The plots are threadbare, the dramatic tension is strung out, and the suds are piled on. Welcome to The Double Life of my Billionaire Husband, the latest in a near-avalanche of so-called “vertical video” dramas. These are palm-of-your-hand English-language telenovelas, big on shocking revelations, dramatic twists, and long-lost relatives, with borderline-parody titles like Trapped In The Boss’s Embrace, The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast, and If Only You Loved Me More.
Shot for a mobile-phone friendly format, these dramas have become a significant player in the global entertainment market. At last month’s Mipcom television market in Cannes, France, the emergence of vertical video dramas was the talk of the event. Seemingly born out of low-budget soaps from Korea, Europe, and Latin America, they have grown into a $8 billion market globally, doubling in value every year.
The Rise of Vertical Video
What is particularly intriguing about this burgeoning market is its current exclusion of traditional Hollywood studios. However, as the U.S. industry becomes aware of the potential revenue streams, this is likely to change. Presently, the market is dominated by phone apps such as My Drama (Ukraine), Drama Shorts (Poland), DramaBox and Good Short (Singapore), Shortmax (China), and U.S.-based Reel Short. These platforms offer libraries of phone soaps in two- to three-minute episodes.
Typically, the first block of episodes is offered for free to hook audiences, with subsequent episodes available for about $1.50 each. Some apps also provide annual memberships. Other micro-studios, such as Dhar Mann, produce similar scripted content for free, relying on ad revenue and brand partnerships.
Hollywood’s Entry and Economic Implications
Some big studios, like Fox, are getting in on the game, exploring the format’s potential beyond scripted dramas into the unscripted realm. Hollywood’s powerful actors union, SAG-AFTRA, has recently secured a new “verticals” agreement for productions with budgets under $460,000 shot in the vertical format.
Fox Entertainment chief executive Rob Wade highlights how portable production technology has shifted the economics of fast production, allowing vertical video series to be shot on smaller budgets than traditional streaming dramas.
“There’s a misunderstanding of how much it actually costs to make TV shows,” Wade says. “You’re talking about an hour and a half, 90 minutes of content [in total], right? You can shoot that in five or six days, you have a small cast of actors, it’s not that expensive.”
The Global Influence and Future Prospects
The genre originated from TikTok’s Chinese market, where short dramas, known as “duanjus,” lean into soap staples: someone in trouble, boy-meets-girl (or boy), rags-to-riches, declining fortunes, and emotionally charged twists like betrayal and revenge. At Mipcom, where over 10,000 industry delegates were seeking the “next big thing,” the relatively small vertical video format stood out against the backdrop of expensive TV dramas.
According to Ukraine-based producer Holywater, a single hit title can generate tens of millions in revenue against a production cost of less than $460,000. Under a deal with Fox Entertainment, Holywater will produce more than 200 vertical titles in the next two years.
Wade sees potential in reality TV, with shows already popular on social media, and new vertical series could spin-off from franchises like American Idol or The Bachelor. Fox Entertainment Studios is already working on a spin-off to the Gordon Ramsay series Next Level Chef, titled Next Level Kitchen.
Wade does not view the rise of vertical video as an “either/or” proposition.
“I just see entertainment as entertainment,” he says. “You have to think, what is going to happen with AI across the globe in the next 20 years? Will that free up more time for people to entertain themselves?”
While vertical video competes for viewers, Wade believes it complements rather than detracts from the traditional movie-watching experience.
“The phone is an important part of entertainment, but equally, cinema is [too]. If you have great IP, or great storytelling instincts or great relationships with creators, or all of those things, using this abundance of distribution methods is exciting.”
This development in vertical video dramas marks a new chapter in mobile entertainment, promising innovative storytelling and expanding the boundaries of how audiences engage with content.
