EXCLUSIVE: Asia’s top five micro-drama apps reached a cumulative total of 150 million monthly active users (MAU) in February, while China-based companies achieved significant growth in the genre over the last year, according to an Omdia report.

Apps such Dramabox, Goodshort, Reelshort and Shortmax – which offer episodes lasting for around 60 to 90 seconds – have also experienced significant growth in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil and even the U.S.

For example, Dramabox has seen 2,550% app store revenue growth year-on-year, while Shortmax experienced 3,888% growth. According to Omdia’s analysis of Sensor Tower data, DramaBox’s app store revenue (across 84 markets) increased from $8M in 2023 to $217M in 2024, while ReelShort app store revenue grew from $36M in 2023 to $214M in 2024.

Micro-dramas are emerging as a key growth area amid a maturing video and streaming market in Asia, with significantly lower production costs and shorter production cycles. Some micro-drama producers have also turned to AI in their process to maximize cost efficiency.

However, the dramas have also surfaced concerns over storylines and content. For example, Chinese media regulators have started tightening regulations on micro-drama content, with Bytedance-backed Hongguo instructed to stop releasing new content for five days for reevaluation in December last year.

As of February 2025, Hongguo has removed 130 micro-dramas from its app, as these were deemed to contain concepts that violate public order and social morality.

In Asia, the micro-drama trend is most notable in China, where major streaming services have started to embrace them in vertical formats on their mobile platforms – akin to Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short-lived Quibi platform. Three out of five internet users watch micro-dramas, Omdia estimates, and, according to a report by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), there were just over 1 billion short-form video users and 662 million micro-drama users in the country in 2024.

Chinese streamers are now encouraging micro-drama content creators and IP holders to partner with them to co-produce and distribute content within their video platforms. For example, Tencent Video offers platform support, including video content production, management and distribution tools via Tencent Cloud, as well as support on audience reach, revenue models, product quality support, and copyright protection.

Singapore-based short-form video platform Viddsee also announced its micro-drama slate in October last year, targeted at the Southeast Asian market and beyond.

The first few episodes of the micro-drama are usually offered for free, then viewers pay a fee to unlock the remaining episodes. The monetization model for micro-drama apps tends to be more flexible than traditional online streaming services – users can opt to continue viewing by watching ads, paying for a subscription or paying per episode.

On many platforms, viewers can also spend in-app coins to unlock subsequent episodes, and earn in-app coins by checking in daily, staying on the app for at least five minutes, and following the platform’s social media accounts — strategies that drive user stickiness and engagement.

Looking toward the future, Omdia’s report highlighted that advertising sales opportunities for micro-dramas will surge, as well as telcos offering data bundling with micro-drama apps. For example, Indonesia’s Telkomsel offers a FlexTV bundling package.

South Korea is also another key growth market in Asia for short-form video content, with streamers Tving and Watcha introducing micro-dramas. One local report also showed that the proportion of short-form content among the types of video format people consumed the most increased from 58.1% in 2023 to 70.7% in 2024.

The Omdia report also found that 20% of 2025’s top downloaded apps in the entertainment segment are micro-drama apps, including Dramabox, Shortmax, Microdrama, Reelshort and Flickreels, according to Sensor Tower data.

The top five micro-drama apps’ monthly active users grew 5,848% year over year from end-2023 to end-2024.

In December last year, Tving launched a dedicated section for vertical short-form video content optimized for mobile. The service initially focused on video highlights from its library, including original series, KBO League baseball games, and pro basketball games. Tving plans to launch original micro-drama content this year.

Similarly, in September last year, Watcha launched Shortcha, a dedicated micro-drama service, featuring content from South Korea, China, Japan, and the US.

More players, including gaming companies, have also started to invest in micro-drama. For example, in India, gaming company Nazara Technologies invested $250,000 in ReelSaga Innovations, securing a 3.57% stake. In South Korea, PUGB developer Krafton invested $90M in Seoul-based Spoonlabs, operator of the short-form drama platform Vigloo.