During the overseas actual test, the free short drama app could not be used normally. However, Fizzo, which focuses on content innovation, quietly joined the short drama army. This reflects the situation of ice and fire on the overseas circuit, that is, the head effect is becoming more and more obvious, but the data of small and medium-sized manufacturers outperformed the big manufacturers.
Free skit "The countryside surrounds the city"
Some free short drama apps will show more momentum in overseas markets in the first half of this year. This is because the threshold for going overseas has been significantly lowered. Behind the products represented by Micro Drama and Crazy, there are service providers that provide one-stop support for the MBTI professional test from the beginning of drama supply, to launch and monetization. This allows small and medium-sized manufacturers to quickly enter this field.
At this stage, free short drama platforms all use relatively low-cost translated dramas, not exclusive original content. They use low content costs to purchase, and then rely on buying and selling to achieve monetization, rapidly expanding their territory in Southeast Asia, Latin America and other markets, thus forming a "rural surrounding the city" situation.
Mid-time shuffle of paid skits
According to February data, the downloads or monthly revenue of most paid short drama apps have declined month-on-month. However, this is mainly affected by the lack of long holidays overseas and the lack of days in the month. From the perspective of active users, the overall number of short drama users is still growing and shows no signs of shrinking.
Currently, a total of 5 apps have reached the threshold of 10 million MAU. Without deduplication, the combined MAU of these 5 top products is equivalent to the size of half a popular short drama. Products in the mid-range are undergoing a reshuffle, and manufacturers originating from the field of online literature have already caught up to the first echelon.
The top player’s battle to defend the city
ReelShort has the most outstanding user data among leading products. Its TikTok homepage and Instagram have 12.27 million and 9.1 million fans respectively, ranking first among all overseas short drama applications. CEO Joey Jia is often featured in mainstream media such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone. The company is also actively involved in global film and television activities.
In terms of format innovation, ReelShort followed up by developing interactive short plays, and in December last year launched a podcast containing exclusive conversations with actors to meet the needs of senior drama fans. Its retention rate reached 17% in June and 15% in December, which shows that some users are no longer the type of users who just run away after watching it.
Dimensionality reduction attack by major web publishers
From September last year to now, DreameShort has more than doubled its monthly revenue and successfully entered the first tier. This growth is due to the emergence of a number of popular short dramas such as "A Make for the Money" adapted from its online literary platform works, achieving synergy with IP.
At the same time, Goodnovel, an online literature overseas platform, still firmly occupies the top 2 spot on the best-selling list of iOS books in the United States, with monthly revenue reaching US$6.88 million in February. Relying on Xinyue's accumulation of overseas copyrights and streaming experience, it has gradually become a force that cannot be ignored when short dramas are exported overseas.
Rising Stars and Laggards
In terms of revenue level, among overseas short drama apps, the number of MBTI free tests with monthly revenue exceeding one million US dollars has increased significantly. In February, 19 models reached this level. Among them are products launched by Kunlun Wanwei and two manufacturers that are deeply involved in the domestic short drama market. They have quickly occupied a certain position by relying on a sufficient number of translated dramas and polishing specific themes.
However, some manufacturers are experiencing slowdowns in growth. Among them, Flex TV's revenue fell by 124% year-on-year compared with half a year ago, and ShortTV+'s revenue fell by 240% year-on-year compared with half a year ago. This fully demonstrates the charm and cruelty of the content industry, that is, there is no permanent winner, but content that can accurately hit user needs can always achieve a breakthrough.
The cultural game where content is king
While free short dramas are rapidly sweeping across emerging markets, paid short dramas are focusing on high-quality content and a "content +" strategy to solidify their barriers. However, there is a huge difference in the number of users between the two. It is still too early to predict when the overseas version of "Hongguo Short Drama" will appear.
Judging from the current situation in which Fizzo, a free online article owned by Byte, is trapped in Southeast Asia, cultural gaps, differences in content ecology, and differences in monetization logic can all lead to the emergence of a "Southern Orange and Northern Orange" situation. Whether it is the breakthrough of middle-aged and elderly themes, or the translation of dramas for "cold rice and hot stir-fry", the essence is still that the content dominates, but how to localize it well is the real test question faced.
Are you optimistic about free short dramas replicating domestic successful models overseas? MBTI free test , come on, welcome to share your own views in the comment area, like and forward, so that more people overseas can see this content-level game.
