Industry

French broadcaster Groupe M6 makes a significant move into mobile-first scripted entertainment, launching a dedicated vertical drama offering on its streaming platform M6+. The move marks a significant development for the European television industry, as an established broadcaster embraces a storytelling format that originated in Asia and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon.

At launch, M6+ is offering five microdrama series comprising 350 episodes, entirely free of charge, through its mobile application. The content is available in a dedicated section of the app, featuring a specially developed vertical video player designed for the 9:16 smartphone viewing experience.
Unlike traditional streaming series, microdramas are specifically conceived for mobile consumption, with short episodes, fast-paced narratives and cliffhangers designed to encourage continuous viewing.

For M6+, the introduction of vertical fiction represents more than a simple catalogue expansion. It signals a strategic move towards a new generation of scripted entertainment, where viewing habits, storytelling structures and distribution models are increasingly shaped by smartphones.

The initial offering focuses on genres that have helped establish microdramas internationally, including romance, young adult fiction, high-school drama and suspense. The launch catalogue features Le tombeur à haut risque, a romantic thriller involving an FBI agent infiltrating a mafia network; Romance de stars, centred on a fictional relationship between a film star and a production assistant; and Échange de corps avec mon coup de coeur secret, a high-school romance built around a body-swapping storyline.

The selection also includes Société secrète : jusqu'à ce que le sang nous sépare, set in an elite boarding school dominated by a mysterious secret society, and L'Été du Milieu, a coming-of-age drama exploring social divisions, bullying and romance at an exclusive summer camp.
All five titles are available exclusively through the M6+ mobile app's dedicated microdrama section, with no subscription fee required.

According to Groupe M6, the M6+ audience is on average eight years younger than that of major competing streaming platforms, while more than 35% of viewing on the service comes from streaming-exclusive content.The platform offers more than 30,000 hours of free programming, including approximately 300 complete series, films, entertainment formats and original productions. In 2025, M6+ reached an average of 29 million monthly viewers in France.
The decision to make all 350 episodes available for free is particularly interesting from a business perspective. While many specialist microdrama platforms rely on paid episodes or subscription models, M6+ is introducing the format within its free streaming environment, potentially lowering the barriers to discovery and adoption.