ANALYSIS
The Chinese micro-drama factory crosses the border
On the morning of 22 July 2026, minutes apart, two American studios entered the vertical micro-drama business. vertTV is launching its own app and wants the viewer to pay inside it; New Short Media refuses to build one and will supply everyone else's. Behind both announcements sits the same arithmetic: in China the format was worth 50.4 billion yuan in 2024 — more than the national box office, in front of 662 million viewers — yet buying a title's audience there costs five to nine times its production budget. Making the story is cheaper than finding someone to watch it.
2024
The format is worth 50.4 billion yuan in China, in front of 662 million viewers
2025 · octobre
SAG-AFTRA creates the Verticals agreement: productions under $300k, a $250/day floor
2026 · 22 juillet
vertTV launches its app; New Short Media chooses to supply everyone else
~120 k€/h
StoryShort — under €2,000 a minute
vs
1,07 M€/h
French scripted drama, a record high
Key Takeaways
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Audience costs five to nine times production — the production budget is no longer the question
→
A one-to-nine gap separates StoryShort from French scripted drama, same country, same craft
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The format's SAG-AFTRA floor is a fifth of the film and television minimum
→
Two studios, two models: collect at home, or supply the ones who collect
Originally published on Streaming Radar