The Resurgence of Short-Form Video Apps: A New Era for Quick Entertainment
In the wake of Quibi’s demise, which founder Jeffrey Katzenberg attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new generation of short-form video apps is taking the market by storm. Despite the failure of Quibi, the concept it pioneered—original shows divided into brief segments—is experiencing a renaissance. In Q1 2024, 66 short drama apps, such as ReelShort and DramaBox, generated a record-breaking $146 million in global consumer spending.
Exponential Growth and Market Expansion
According to data from app intelligence firm Appfigures, this represents a staggering 8,000% increase from the $1.8 million generated by just 21 apps in Q1 2023. Since then, the market has expanded rapidly, with 45 new apps joining the fray. Collectively, these apps have earned approximately $245 million in gross consumer spending and have been downloaded 121 million times.
Image Credits: Appfigures
Accelerating Revenue Growth
The revenue growth in the short drama app market began to accelerate in fall 2023, according to Appfigures data. This led to a significant revenue jump between February and March 2024, with global revenue growing 56% to reach $65.7 million, up from $42 million. This growth can be attributed to the increasing number of apps available, as well as marketing efforts, ad spend, and growing consumer interest.
Top Performers: ReelShort, DramaBox, and ShortTV
Among the top-performing apps, ReelShort (No. 1) and DramaBox (No. 2) generated $52 million and $35 million in Q1 2024, respectively, accounting for 37% and 24% of the revenue generated by the top 10 apps. ShortTV, the No. 3 app, grossed $17 million globally in Q1, representing 12% of the total.
Content Quality: A Surprising Twist
Interestingly, the content quality of these apps is notably inferior to Quibi’s offerings, which were not always well-received. As The Zero Byte reported last year, the stories in ReelShort resemble “snippets from low-quality soaps or mobile storytelling games brought to life.” Despite the subpar acting and writing, these apps have managed to find an audience.
Image Credits: Appfigures
Global Market Trends
The U.S. leads the pack in terms of top markets for both installs and revenue. However, the charts vary when it comes to which countries are downloading versus paying for the content. Indonesia, India, the Philippines, and Brazil follow the U.S. in terms of installs, while the U.K., Australia, Canada, and the Philippines make up the top revenue-generating markets after the U.S.
In Q1 2024, short drama apps were installed nearly 37 million times, a 992% increase from 3.4 million in Q1 2023. ReelShort and ShortTV are the top two apps by downloads, with ReelShort accounting for 37% (13.3 million) of installs and ShortTV capturing 27% (10 million). DramaBox, the No. 2 app by consumer spending, ranks No. 3 by installs with 7 million downloads (19%).
Image Credits: Appfigures
Platform Breakdown and Market Share
Reflecting broader app store trends, iOS generates the majority of the revenue (63%), while Android accounts for the majority of downloads (67%).
Despite the growth in this market, short drama apps still lag behind their nearest competitors—short-form video and streaming video—in terms of overall attraction. Short drama apps claimed a 6.7% share of the total across all three categories combined in Q1 2024, up from 0.15% a year ago. However, the wider video app market generates significantly more revenue, with the top 10 apps across the combined three categories, including TikTok and Disney+, making $1.8 billion in Q1.
Image Credits: Appfigures
Image Credits: Appfigures
5 Comments
Looks like short drama apps are the new goldmine, Quibi’s ghost must be having a laugh!
Quibi’s flub is history’s punchline as short drama apps skyrocket; poetic justice?
Short dramas hitting jackpot now—Quibi must be somewhere smirking!
Quibi’s laughing in its digital grave as these short drama apps rake in the cash, unreal!
Guess the drama craze is back with a vengeance, who saw that coming after Quibi’s flop?