ReelShort: beyond microdramas, an ecosystem

ReelShort is intensifying its footprint across Southeast Asia through a newly minted alliance with Philippine telecommunications powerhouse Globe. This move comes mere weeks after sealing a comparable agreement with Thailand’s AIS, cementing a regional distribution strategy aimed at highly connected mobile audiences. While the platform brings its vertical dramas to millions of Filipino users, its leadership envisions a future that transcends short-form narratives.

Speaking at the APOS conference during a panel titled “Micro Dramas, Mega Economics”, the company’s CEO Joey Jia outlined a transformative roadmap for the business. He noted that the current iteration of bite-sized storytelling is merely the foundation of a much broader entertainment network. ‘In the past, we focused on content’,  Jia explained. ‘Now we need to create an ecosystem’.

Launched in 2022 by Crazy Maple Studio, the service has ballooned into a global heavyweight, surpassing 286 million installations and drawing tens of millions of monthly active users. To sustain this operation, the enterprise relies on a workforce of over 1,600 employees alongside an expansive web of independent production partners. Yet, the founder dismisses these massive scale metrics as the ultimate ambition. ‘Downloads were never our dream or our goal’, he clarified. ‘Our goal is to create diversified content that meets the demands of different audience segments, ultimately serving a wide range of viewers’.

Even amid the explosive popularity of vertical entertainment, the executive maintains that the format has barely begun to mature. ‘It’s still the very beginning’, he stated. ‘But audience adoption and market growth indicate that it is evolving into a major new content category that will be embraced by the wider media and entertainment industry’. Furthermore, he sought to dispel widespread prejudices regarding the quality and scope of these productions. “The biggest misconception is that microdrama is limited to romance, low production values or a one-time-wonder project’. he added.

The chief executive inextricably links the medium’s expansion to the genesis of fresh intellectual property and artificial intelligence. Rather than viewing AI as a mere supplementary instrument, the organization is actively integrating it as a concurrent production workflow. This technological integration supports a wider franchise-building philosophy. ‘With the evolution of distribution channels, the way new IP is created has diversified’, he noted. ‘Vertical storytelling will be the most important channel for future IP’.

ReelShort market performance & top hits (2025–2026)