It's becoming clear why microdramas are nonsense bullsh*t hype and not really a thing
I’m a big microdrama sceptic. At least in regards to western audiences being interested in these.
I acknowledge that there is a lot of investment in this space as entrepreneurial types chase the promise of the gold rush, but I am still yet to really hear about one breaking through culturally. And I’m not even talking about Ted Lasso-level breaking out… I’m talking about that sort of success where you hear about, say, one of the comedy game shows on Dropout. I don’t have a high bar set for this.
There is a market for short-form, serialised content. That sort of programming has been part of the TV and theatrical business since its earliest days. But “microdramas,” which are built on a transactional model where viewers are paying for each instalment, just isn’t sustainable. Especially as it is working counter to the cost of living crisis impacting so many.
The microdrama gold rush seems to be coming to an end, with some notable players stepping away from the business.
Pocket FM has just exited the microdrama business. CEO Rohan Nayak on the reasons why are telling:
“We don’t think the current micro drama model works. The hardest part wasn’t getting people to try the product, it was getting them to come back. User acquisition isn’t the challenge in micro drama today, long-term retention is.”
“Much of the category today is being supported by aggressive user acquisition budgets, dark patterns and auto-renewal mechanics. That’s not a game we are interested in playing. If your business only works because cancelling is intentionally difficult, you don’t have product-market fit, you are a marketing arbitrage platform.”
Meanwhile ex-ABC exec Lloyd Braun has called for serenity now as Cineverse has pulled back from the microdrama business it formed with his venture firm Banyan.
Why is Cinerverse pulling out of the business? It’s fairly illuminating and speaks to the idea that the entire microdrama business is built on marketing and puffery.
Here’s CEO Chris McGurk by way of Deadline:
Established players in Asia, where the market first showed its potential, are “spending like $1 million a day to market their platforms and their channels,” the exec said. Plus, he added, “You’ve seen a lot of the big Hollywood players get involved. And I just think our gut feeling at the end of the day was that we should be selling picks and shovels to that business, versus getting involved in an arms race in that business and spending at the levels that the competitors are spending.”
In other words, McGuirk is keen to limit financial exposure to microdramas to avoid being caught in the impact of its inevitable demise.
It also explains why western audiences aren’t buying into microdramas in the way that Asian audiences are… there isn’t that marketing spend to stimulate sign-ups.
News Desk
The BBC has acquired Ghosts Australia to complement the UK and US versions across its service. Read: Deadline
Prim,e Video has renewed YA drama Every Year After for a second season. Read: THR
In reading the room, Nintendo appears to be charging less for its games. Read: Polygon
Australia’s 10 will launch a version of UK format Parents’ Evening, hosted by Shaun Micallef and his son Gabe Micallef. The UK version is hosted by Romesh Ranganathan and his mother Shanthi Ranganathan. Read: C21
Warner Bros Animation has announced it is developing a series based on a never-realised Gerry Anderson puppet series Hit Squad. Read: Polygon
Warner Bros Animation has announced it will remake the Dark Shadows soap opera. Read: THR
The just announced animated show Tetris: World Builders, based on the falling block video game, has all the artistic credibility of the Pac-Man cartoon show of the 80s (which, admittedly, is a show I watched all the time). Read: Dark Horizons
What feud? Millie Bobby Brown will star opposite David Harbour for a spy drama at Netflix from Adolescence writer Jack Thorne (who also penned Brown’s franchise hit Enola Holmes). Read: THR
Michael J Fox was awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada, with You Can’t Do That On Television creator Roger Damon Price named as a Member of the Order of Canada. Read: THR
Netflix has started production on a second three-part mini-series following the first The Monster of Florence. Read: Deadline
MS Now is dumping more of its weekend content to play repurposed video podcasts. Read: Deadline
An X-Men movie that runs an hour and filmed in half a day? Aunty Donna proved that it can be done… or can’t, really…
Trailer Park
The Love Hypothesis debuts on Prime Video Sept 23. The novel it is based on originally grew out of Star Wars fanfic based on the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren in the last trilogy. Not that the novel or film reflects those origins all that obviously…
After an impulsive kiss, two scientists end up in a fake relationship, testing their theories about love and each other.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland debuts on Disney Channel July 16 and Disnet+ the next day.
Now that the Queen of Hearts is nice and Cinderella is safe, things seem perfect for Red and Chloe ... but little do they know that changing the past created a new villain: Maddox Hatter. When Maddox captures the Queen of Hearts, Red and Chloe must work with Red's new sister Pink, Luisa Madrigal's son Luis, Captain Hook's daughter Hazel, and Maddox's son Max to save her and Wonderland.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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