Commentary

Microdramas On Network TV? Not Likely, But Other Effects Loom

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Microdramas may not ever make it on to traditional network TV.

For sure, younger media consumers may not be concerned about this.

Late last year, Owl & Co. projected the global microdrama app market -- outside of China -- would get to $3 billion, coming largely from mobile phone-focused video apps ReelShort and DramaBox.

ReelShort says one of its biggest microdramas “The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband” is about a young woman who agrees to marry a seemingly ex-con to pay for her mother’s medical bills, only to realize he is a ruthless billionaire. ReelShort says it has pulled in 800 million views.

These are short, minute-long or two-minute-long TV-like episodes on your phones, and are becoming increasingly popular. A series could be as long as 50 or 100 episodes.

Microdramas are just one subset of the category called ‘Verts’ -- the vertical-formatted videos you see on your phones.

Verts can be any short-form video, from guitar instruction to AI-generated ways to ponder different news events coming from popular celebrities.

This wave of short TV-like series are currently getting a big boost from sampling on easy access on advertising adjacent platforms or those base video platforms nearly everyone has. Think YouTube, or Netflix. Others just has Disney+ are moving into the business as well.

And yes, you can see microdramas on your home TV screen. And that is enough to draw in in-between-big-project actors/performers, and viewers to check in.

If you are nervously thinking back to that big Hollywood-based 2020 failure called Quibi (standing for Quick Bites, which spent $1 billion in premium short-form drama/comedy content, don’t worry. Generally speaking you don’t need a subscription for this new wave of content.

On your phones? They are on TikTok, Instagram and other social media. And that means those microdramas are completely free.

The important question is what this means for our current media universe of increasingly short-attention spans. And how does it affect -- if at all -- any long-form content?

Keep your focus -- if you can.

artificial intelligence, mobile, television, trends, video, yahoo finance

3 comments about "Microdramas On Network TV? Not Likely, But Other Effects Loom".

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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 29, 2026 at 4:42 p.m.
It probably means nothing for the development of long-form or network quality content, Wayne.
Reply

Frank Zazza from iPause Ads, September 29, 2026 at 7:07 p.m.

This is an interesting trend, Wayne. As vertical storytelling moves from the phone toward streaming and to the television screen, can vertical commercials be far behind?

We may soon see brands experimenting with short-form vertical creative built specifically for streaming environments. The format may change, but the objective remains the same -- capture attention and create a measurable consumer response.

Ben B from Retired, September 29, 2026 at 10:31 p.m.

I'm not interested in short form dramas for a minute or 2 I'm more into long form dramas on what you see on broadcast, cable, & streaming. There is a niche market for it why it will be here to stay but not everyone will be into 1 or 2 minute micodramas.