According to OMDIA, the global television and video industry is on track to reach $1 trillion in revenue by 2030. Still, a significant and rapidly growing slice of that pie isn’t coming from prestige streaming dramas or broadcast network hits. It’s coming from the screens in our pockets.
During the «MicroDrama 2026: The Global Breakout» session at MIP London, some players gathered to dissect the explosive rise of vertical, short-form storytelling. Moderated by Maria Rua Aguete, Head of M&E at OMDIA, the panel revealed that micro-dramas are already generating a staggering $11 billion globally—double the revenue of all FAST channels worldwide combined.
Rua Aguete opened the session with a stark reminder of the format’s undeniable commercial power: ‘There’s nothing to believe but not believe. The numbers speak for themselves’.
To unpack this phenomenon, she was joined by three heavyweights of the micro-drama space: Alex Montalvo, Co-Founder & CCO of GammaTime (the first Hollywood-backed entrant into the space); Tim Oh, General Manager for COL Group International (the pioneers of micro-dramas in China and a dominant force in the US market); and Anatolii Kasianov, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of HOLYWATER (a rapidly expanding distribution giant backed by Fox and $22 million in recent venture capital funding).
Content: from «Billionaire Tropes» to True Crime
A recurring debate surrounding micro-dramas is the perceived quality of the content. Rua Aguete challenged the panelists on the common criticism that the format relies heavily on low-cost, sensationalist tropes—such as billionaire revenge plots, erotica, and exaggerated romance.
Oh acknowledged the prevalence of these themes but offered a compelling justification rooted in accessibility and relatability. Drawing a parallel to the gaming industry’s evolution from high-budget console titles to mass-market mobile games like Candy Crush, Oh explained that micro-dramas serve a similar purpose for narrative content. ‘A simple story about this person becoming a billionaire that has a revenge plot is relatable’, he said. ‘The content is built for the masses’.
However, Montalvo was quick to defend the format’s potential for premium storytelling. Pointing out that micro-dramas are validating the core thesis of Jeffrey Katzenberg‘s ill-fated Quibi—premium narrative content designed for phones—Executive stressed that the industry is merely in its infancy. ‘This is a brand new medium, a brand new opportunity for storytellers to tell hyper-engaging, really innovative stories’, he argued. GammaTime is actively expanding beyond romance, venturing into true crime and thrillers, and recently announced a partnership with CSI creator Anthony Zuiker to develop high-end original IP for the vertical format.
The Strategy: original incubation vs. A.I. conversion
As the demand for vertical content surges, platforms are exploring different avenues for supply. While Kasianov’s HOLYWATER has built its success on an IP incubation model—adapting top-performing books into vertical series for its massive base of over 100 million users—other players are looking backward to monetize existing libraries.
Montalvo revealed that GammaTime is actively experimenting with converting legacy horizontal content into vertical micro-dramas using A.I. technology through a partnership with the Israeli company Spikes. Conversely, Oh expressed skepticism about directly porting complex IPs into the micro-drama space, suggesting instead that major brands should create simplified, ‘extension’ stories within their existing universes, tailored specifically for the vertical format.
Monetization: valuing time over subscriptions
The financial engine driving the micro-drama boom is its unique monetization structure. Moving away from the rigid subscription models of traditional SVODs, micro-drama platforms rely heavily on in-app currencies and micro-transactions to unlock individual episodes.
The panel agreed that this model ultimately gives consumers unprecedented choice. Users can opt to watch for free with ad interruptions, pay small increments to continue a specific storyline, or purchase subscriptions for unrestricted access. As Oh noted, the decision to pay often boils down to how a user values their time in a fast-paced world, choosing to spend money to bypass the friction of advertising.
Currently, the core demographic driving these revenues is female, a trend Kasianov attributes to the genre’s origins in adapting romance novels. However, with the rapid diversification of genres and the impending entry of major Hollywood players and traditional broadcasters, the micro-drama space is aggressively expanding its footprint, proving that the future of television might just be vertical.
