Live edition Vol. I · No. 40 Friday, 02 October 2026
Tracking 4,143 titles · Across 51 platforms · Streaming Radar  ·  the newsletter · Vertical Invasion  ·  the report
The newsletter

Vertical drama, read every week.

Reporting and analysis on the vertical drama industry, by Ludovic Bostral. The articles and the stories we follow, delivered to your inbox. We email you a confirmation link first: nothing is sent until you click it.

  • 1New articles3 published so far.
  • 2News threads1 running story, as dated lists of real headlines.
  • 3Straight to the dataEach issue points to the Vertical Invasion report on Lens for the full numbers.

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The vertical drama booklet

A free booklet on how vertical drama works, where the money goes and what China just changed, with dated references.

Read the booklet (opens in a new tab)

Free, read online, no download. A work email address is required.

Poster of the video Vertical What? Episode 1: Twist

Vertical What? explains vertical drama to people who have never watched one. Episode 1: Twist.

A vertical drama that explains vertical dramas. 1 min 33, in English.

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Articles

What we published.

3 articles, newest first.

A smartphone letting coins and tickets fall into an open hand beside a turnstile
Platforms ·

YouTube gives microdramas seasons and episodes. Payment is left to channel memberships

Shorts series launched on 23 September. The launch post never mentions payment. A YouTube executive told reporters that studios can use memberships.

 A phone-shaped locked safe behind a velvet rope with a brass key on the floor
Formats ·

The taboo is the product: why vertical drama keeps its darkest tropes

A review asks why kink is always the man's secret in vertical drama. A screenwriter, a regulator and this site's catalogue point to where the viewer pays.

 A smartphone on a tripod filming on a rainy London street, a rulebook on a table
Production ·

British studios shoot for ReelShort. UK rules are written for 20-minute episodes

London crews now deliver vertical series to DramaBox, ReelShort and DramaWave. The tax credit, the development fund and the union rates that shape British television were built for a different length.
News threads

The stories we follow, headline by headline.

Each thread is a Streaming Radar storyline. Only real headlines are listed, newest first, with their source.

Vertical drama joins the big leagues

8 items
  1. British studios shoot for ReelShort. UK rules are written for 20-minute episodes
    verticaldrama.tv
  2. Vidio Teams With ReelShort for First Indonesian Short-Drama Partnership (opens in a new tab)
    External source Variety
  3. Thanks to ReelShort and Arizona State University, you can now go to college for microdramas (opens in a new tab)
    External source TubeFilter
  4. MIPCOM Cannes is bringing in microdramas (opens in a new tab)
    External source TubeFilter
  5. WWE is putting its star wrestlers in a ReelShort microdrama (opens in a new tab)
    External source TubeFilter
Show 3 more
  1. TikTok and Sundance team up for microseries writing program (opens in a new tab)
    External source TubeFilter
  2. Disney is doubling down on short-form–and creator partnerships (opens in a new tab)
    External source TubeFilter
  3. Google TV Adds Microdramas & Short-Form Video Apps (opens in a new tab)
    External source Time News
To learn more

The full numbers are in the Vertical Invasion report.

Market size, platform economics and country by country data, on Streaming Lens.

Learn more on Lens →