What are microdramas

Microdramas are ultra-short drama series designed for mobile consumption in vertical orientation. Each episode typically lasts between 1 and 3 minutes, although some range from as little as 30 seconds to up to 6 minutes. A series usually includes between 20 and 100 episodes, reaching a total duration comparable to that of a film or a miniseries.

Unlike viral content or UGC, microdramas are characterized by:

• Professional or semi-professional production.
• Scripts with a clearly defined narrative structure.
• Serial storytelling and recurring characters.
• High retention and consecutive consumption (“minutes-long binge-watching”).
• Native mobile adaptation: storytelling optimized for small screens, fast pacing, and vertical format.

In essence, they combine classic audiovisual storytelling with mobile-first dynamics, resulting in a hybrid between television, short film, and social content. They are designed to fit into brief moments of everyday life: commutes, breaks, downtime, or multitasking situations.

Origins: from China to the world

The phenomenon originated in China under the name duanju, evolving from web novels and becoming established between 2019 and 2020. Its rapid growth can be explained by three key factors:

a) The consolidation of vertical video

Platforms such as Kuaishou, Douyin (TikTok in China), and later TikTok in the West, proved that vertical consumption was faster, more addictive, and more scalable than traditional horizontal video.

b) The need for new monetization models

As classic ultra-short content (dance, comedy, challenges, lifestyle) became saturated, producers and platforms began to seek richer narrative formats capable of generating longer viewing times and, consequently, more advertising opportunities and direct monetization.

c) The democratization of audiovisual production

Lower costs for equipment, editing software, and digital production environments enabled small studios and independent creators to produce serialized content with acceptable quality at very low cost.

The result was a new type of audiovisual product: professionalized, scalable, cost-efficient, and perfectly aligned with the fragmented, mobile-first consumption habits that dominate today’s digital ecosystem.

In 2024, the Chinese microdrama market reached ¥50.44 billion (~USD 6.9 billion), surpassing box office revenues for the first time, with more than 3,000 productions launched or in development.

Global expansion and regional consumption

This format has rapidly gone global. In the U.S. and Europe, platforms such as ReelShort, DramaBox, FlexTV, and ShortMax have emerged, promoting microdramas through mobile apps and social networks. However, there are clear regional differences:

Asia (especially China, South Korea, and Japan)

• The most consolidated and mature market.
• Specialized platforms with massive catalogs (millions of episodes).
• Payment and micropayment models widely adopted.
• Multigenerational audiences.

Estados Unidos

• Rapid expansion starting in 2023.
• TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels beginning to co-produce narrative content.
• Traditional studios and creative agencies experimenting with short-form formats for CTV and FAST platforms.

Latin America

• Very fast growth driven by high mobile consumption and a strong culture of condensed telenovela-style storytelling.
• First specialized production companies emerging in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.

Europe

• More gradual but steady adoption.
• Growing interest from broadcasters and OTT platforms seeking to attract younger audiences.
• A mix of local content and adaptations of Asian formats.

Business models

This format is highly profitable thanks to its low production costs and flexibility. The most common models include:

a) Integrated advertising

This includes very short pre-rolls or mid-rolls, natural product integration within the narrative (brand integration), and full-season sponsorships.

b) Micropayments and unlocks (freemium model)

Very popular in Asia. Platforms offer free episodes while allowing users to pay to access early releases, alternative endings, or additional content through virtual coins, micropayments, or short-term subscriptions.

c) Distribution on FAST and CTV platforms

Microdramas can be bundled into continuous episodes, performing particularly well on FAST channels, CTV programming blocks, or genre-based marathons, driving AVOD revenues.

d) Licensing and co-productions

Platforms, brands, and broadcasters acquire rights for local adaptations, remakes, or co-productions of formats that have already proven successful in other markets.

e) Integrated e-commerce

A model reinforced by TikTok, where the story leads to the product, and the product is purchased directly within the platform.

Format Challenges

Although its growth is unstoppable, microdramas face significant challenges:

• Saturation and variable quality: Low production costs have led to thousands of productions, many of uneven quality.
• Speed vs. narrative coherence: Teams must produce quickly without compromising the storyline.
• Working conditions: Intense schedules and insufficient safety protocols.
• Copyright and intellectual property: Episode fragmentation complicates:
  • International sales
  • Protection against copying
  • Management of music or visual rights
• Sustainable monetization in the West: While the model is profitable in China, Western markets are still searching for stable formulas.
• Audience retention: The format relies on a tightly paced narrative. Even a few poorly used seconds can cause viewers to disengage.

AI: the next evolutionary step

Artificial Intelligence is set to play a key role in the expansion and professionalization of microdramas. AI can streamline processes such as scriptwriting, shoot planning, storyboard creation, and automatic localization into multiple languages, enabling more content to be produced in less time without compromising quality.

Additionally, AI-driven recommendation systems can better segment audiences and enhance distribution across CTV and FAST platforms, maximizing catalog performance. Overall, AI not only reduces costs and speeds up production, but also amplifies the ability of studios and platforms to create narratives that are more efficient, personalized, and scalable.

Future Prospects

All signs point to microdramas being not a passing trend, but a new standard in audiovisual consumption. Expected developments include:

• Greater professionalization of writers, directors, and showrunners specializing in ultra-short narratives.
• Integration on connected TVs (CTV) Tthrough FAST channels and thematic compilations.
• Hybrid production: long seasons on OTT platforms with short “spin-offs” for social media.
• Expansion into premium genres: thriller, romance, sci-fi, and comedy in high-quality vertical formats.
• Intensive use of AI for previsualization, assisted scriptwriting, production, and rapid localization.
• Participation of major brands which will see microdramas as a more effective entertainment-based advertising vehicle than traditional commercials.

In short, the format points toward a convergence: television, mobile video, and social content will merge into a continuous narrative ecosystem.

Conclusion

Microdramas represent the natural evolution of audiovisual consumption in a fast-paced, mobile, and fragmented world. With a well-established Chinese market, emerging hubs in Asia, and growing adoption in the West, the format positions itself as one of the biggest opportunities today for creators, platforms, and advertisers.

Its success is explained by a combination that is hard to match: agile storytelling, low production costs, high retention, and multiple monetization pathways spanning mobile, CTV, and FAST environments. For the industry, microdramas offer a real opportunity to innovate, reach new audiences, and experiment with flexible, low-barrier business models. For brands and advertisers, they provide longer viewing times, viral potential, shareability, and more organic, effective advertising integration.

In short, microdramas are establishing themselves as a new audiovisual language, perfectly adapted to contemporary habits and with enormous potential to transform the way stories are told—and consumed.