By Hernan Lopez. Companies mentioned: ReelShort, DramaBox, Netflix, Google/YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros.
Questions answered: Are short dramas a fad? Which tech company invited executives from all over the world to LA to talk about short dramas? And what percentage of Netflix’s viewing hours come from Paramount and WBD?
Short drama apps are on track to make $3 billion this year outside China—nearly triple last year. That’s still small compared to Netflix or YouTube, but it marks the creation of something that’s never existed: a functioning marketplace for short form scripted storytelling.
Shorts have been around for more than a century. The Oscars first recognized them in 1932. The Emmys added a Short Form category in 2011. And yet, for most of that history, short form was second-class—stuck between pure art and proof-of-concept. Theaters and TV networks didn’t buy it. Streamers didn’t want it.
YouTube finally built a system to monetize short form—but for everything except scripted drama. It works for how-to’s, unboxings, comedy skits, dance videos, and even elaborate productions like Mr Beast’s. But serialized storytelling? Neither the UX nor the economics support it.
So the question becomes: if there’s finally a system to finance short form scripted, will that spark a Golden Age of Short Form?