Microdrama viewership has grown 28-fold over the past two years, and it’s not just for women of a certain age anymore. More than two-thirds of users, male and female, watch romance-based series. And just like TV, microdrama viewership typically peaks on Sunday nights between 8-10 p.m.
Those are among the findings of a research report, “The State of Microdrama,” issued Thursday by vertical media powerhouse Holywater and research and consulting firm Owl & Co. Holywater opened the databanks from its My Drama and My Muse microdrama apps to allow Owl & Co. to analyze the new medium’s torrid growth.
One inescapable conclusion gleaned from the data is that microdrama fans, particularly the heavy users who consume more than three hours a week, are OK with AI-generated material despite the growing culture debate about the pernicious influence of endless scrolls of “AI slop” content. My Drama offers a broad slate of live-action microdramas; My Muse offers AI-created vertical media.
Popular on Variety
“The audience is younger, more male and more deeply engaged than commonly assumed. It is also far more open to AI-generated content than the broader cultural conversation around AI would suggest. The format has emerged: its audience returns daily, watches across multiple contexts, recommends shows to others, and stacks alongside traditional streaming rather than replacing it,” the report states. “Measured on the same infrastructure, that audience engages with AI-generated content at rates that match live-action, and on our flagship titles retention runs slightly ahead.”
The report also observes that vertical media content is expanding so fast and wide that the term “microdrama” is outmoded.
Among the other notable stats in the 55-page study:
In 2026, vertical media apps will climb to a $4 billion business, excluding China, where estimates are the market passed $15 billion in 2025.
Holywater’s saw its percentage of male users grow from 1.1% in late 2024 to 30.3% for the most recent quarter.
Male users “watch less per user, lean sci-fi/fantasy at 1.4× the average, respond to adapted IP half as much and arrive through YouTube and app-store search 1.5× more often,” per the report.
But almost everyone watches romance stories, which account for 76% of female viewing and 54% of male viewing. After romance, the top genres for men are comedy, action, sci-fi and thrillers.
It’s still a new and forming habit: 65% of microdrama users have been watching for less than a year while 31% started watching less than three months ago.
Despite the spike in volume, microdramas don’t compete that much for viewers with traditional TV series. Vertical media shows are something consumers weave in to “in-between moments on commutes, in queues, while doing chores. Microdrama isn’t competing with TV in those moments — it’s competing with scrolling,” the report states.
A majority (70%) of users also like to watch as a “pre-sleep ritual.” After that it’s a “couch-relaxation activity” (59%), a filler for meal and work breaks third (35%). And in fact, one in five users (22%) watch while using the toilet.
The highest single hour of activity on My Drama is Sunday 8-10 p.m. The least-watched hours are weekday mornings from 3-9 a.m.
And finally, the content marketplace is booming. More than half (60%) of Holywater subscribers use three or more apps in a week. “Loyalty is measured in share of microdrama hours, not in exclusivity,” per the report.