Markets

The Kelvin Theatre at the IET was packed on Tuesday, February 23 at MIPLondon for “MicroDrama 2026: The Global Breakout”—a clear sign that the industry’s curiosity about microdrama has shifted from skepticism to urgency. Moderated by Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media & Entertainment at Omdia, the session framed microdrama not as a fringe trend but as a fast-scaling, data-driven business. Her message was direct: the numbers are now too big to ignore, and the sector is moving quickly from experimentation to industrialisation.

On stage, three companies representing different entry points into the market mapped out where the opportunity—and the friction—really sits:Anatolii Kasianov, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of HOLYWATER, described his company as the “first AI entertainment network” and positioned it as one of the biggest players in short drama outside China, with strong traction in the US and Europe.

Alex Montalvo, Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of GammaTime, introduced the company as the first Hollywood-backed entrant in the microdrama space, aiming to professionalise the medium and expand genres.

Timothy Oh, General Manager at COL Group International, traced the phenomenon back to China, where COL helped pioneer microdramas starting in 2021 and later incubated US-facing success stories such as RealShort, alongside other top-performing apps.

Content: “Different games, different strategies”
One of the liveliest moments came when the conversation turned to the polarising reputation of microdrama content—often dismissed as formulaic, packed with billionaires, revenge fantasies and sexualised storylines.
Timothy Oh pushed back with a strategic lens: not everyone is building the same product. Some early players, he argued, behave like gaming platforms focused primarily on user acquisition—optimising for fast transactions and high-conversion hooks. But broadcasters and OTT services entering the space will approach it differently, using microdrama as a vertical extension of IP and a tool to reach audiences they are currently missing.
Oh’s comparison was blunt and effective: the ecosystem resembles gaming’s shift from premium console titles to mass mobile play. Microdramas work because they are simple, relatable and immediately rewarding—particularly for mobile-first audiences and viewers outside top-tier urban centres. Fantasy is part of the mechanism, he added, which is also why the sector often avoids famous actors: recognisable faces can break immersion.

A medium in its infancy—and already expanding
Alex Montalvo argued that microdrama is still at the start of its creative curve. For him, the “Quibi moment” wasn’t wrong—just early. Vertical viewing is now habitual behaviour, and microdramas are capitalising on that codified consumption pattern with a narrative grammar built around relentless engagement and constant cliffhangers.
At GammaTime, the push is toward genre expansion beyond romance: early traction in true crime and thrillers, alongside partnerships with established Hollywood creatives. Montalvo pointed to projects created by CSI creator Anthony Zuiker as an example of how premium talent is starting to test the form—and how microdrama may begin importing “traditional” storytelling credibility.

IP, distribution and AI: scaling the pipeline
For HOLYWATER, Anatolii Kasianov framed success around a single word: distribution. He described a model built over years through IP incubation, converting high-performing stories—often from books—into vertical series with an existing audience base. That distribution engine, he said, is what attracts investors and partners: the ability to reach and monetise audiences at scale.
AI is central to that efficiency. Kasianov described how automation supports everything from producing tens of thousands of trailer variations to optimising marketing decisions. In microdrama, he warned, it’s easy to burn budgets without data discipline—because acquiring users is expensive, and performance must be measured like a game: lifetime value, recoupment and return on ad spend.

Where the money goes: marketing, marketing, marketing
If there was one hard consensus across the panel, it was this: microdrama economics are dominated by paid user acquisition. One speaker summed it up brutally: around 90% of spend can go to marketing.
The growth engine runs on hundreds—sometimes thousands—of ad assets pushed through Meta and TikTok, tested continuously through A/B experimentation. Teams operate across time zones, optimising creative, targeting and conversion funnels in real time. In this business, the “art” is not only the show—it’s how the audience is persuaded to click, install and keep paying.

Monetisation: choice as the product
The panel also positioned monetisation as a flexible ladder rather than a single model: ad-supported viewing, microtransactions, passes and subscriptions. As one speaker put it, the category is ultimately selling choice—how viewers want to watch, and how they want to pay. Another framing landed particularly well: payment is often about the value of time. For some audiences, waiting through ads is the real cost; for others, micro-payments are the smoother path.