A milestone moment for microdramas just occured, according to industry analyst Omdia.
Analysis of cell phone usage in the U.S. shows users are spending more time watching vertical videos than they do watching Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video on mobile devices.
Given the relatively nascent stage for microdramas, the stat is hugely significant. It comes after Omdia estimated that global microdrama revenues reached $11B in 2025 and will hit $14B by the end of this year. By 2030, the number will be well over $20B.
Most of the revenue is coming from China, but about $3B will be generated elsewhere this year, with the U.S. by far the second-largest market. Omdia predicts that by end-2026, the U.S. will account for 50% of all microdrama revenues outside China.
Microdrama viewing is primarily being driven by women aged between 25 and 45, though usage among men is being targeted with the introduction of new audiences. The shows, which play vertically on cell phones, are typically between one and three minutes long, and often feature romantic and melodramatic storylines.
“Microdramas are no longer a niche experiment,” said Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media and Entertainment at Omdia, who is speaking at MIP London today. “They are becoming a core driver of mobile video engagement. What stands out is not just revenue growth, but the intensity of usage. On mobile, microdrama apps are generating more daily viewing time than the world’s biggest streaming platforms.”
The stats
Omdia’s analysis, which assessed mobile data from Sensor Tower, showed microdrama apps such as ReelShort are outpacing SVODs on mobile, with discovery being driven through YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
ReelShort demands 35.7 minutes of use per day, well ahead of Netflix (24.8 minutes), Prime Video (26.9 minutes) and Disney+ (23 minutes).
Netflix remains the leader in monthly active mobile users in the U.S., with around 12 million compared with 1.1 million for ReelShort. This suggests the engagement intensity for microdrama is way higher.
It was a similar story in the UK, where FlickReels generates higher daily usage than Prime Video (22.39 minutes vs. 21.47 minutes), and in Mexico, where DramaBox outpaces Prime Video (27.9 minutes vs. 23.8 minutes) and Disney+ (22.5 minutes).
“Microdramas are winning the battle for attention, rather than scale, at least for now,” said Aguete. “This is the metric streamers care about most as they look to grow mobile usage and compete with social video platforms where daily engagement is approaching 80 minutes.”
Some of the streamers have made tentative steps into vertical video, with Disney+ recently launching one on its service. TelevisaUnivision’s ViX in Mexico and GloboPlay in Brazil are embedding short-form serial content within AVOD and freemium ecosystems, using microdrama models to boost engagement and reach.
“Vertical video strategies, including microdramas, are becoming a logical next step for streamers that want to increase mobile usage without cannibalizing their long-form premium content,” said Aguete concluded. “Microdramas are not replacing TV or streaming, but they are reshaping how audiences consume storytelling on mobile.”
English (US) ·