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The market is currently dominated by phone apps such as My Drama (headquartered in Ukraine), Drama Shorts (Poland), DramaBox and Good Short (Singapore), Shortmax (China) and US-based Reel Short, all of which sell libraries of phone soaps in two- to three-minute episodes. Typically, the first block of episodes are offered for free, to hook audiences. The remainder are offered for about $1.50 an episode. Some apps also offer annual memberships. Other micro-studios, such as Dhar Mann, produce similarly scripted free content, but using a business model built on ad revenue and brand partnerships. Some big studios, like Fox, are getting in on the game, and looking beyond hip-pocket soaps to explore the format’s potential in the unscripted realm. And Hollywood’s powerful actors union SAG-AFTRA has just moved to lock a new “verticals” agreement for productions with budgets under $460,000 shot on the vertical format.
