Nearly one-third of all short-drama app downloads worldwide came from Southeast Asia in the first quarter of 2026. The region accounted for 32% of global downloads, ahead of Latin America at 23% and India at 22%.
According to Sensor Tower, global downloads of short-drama apps exceeded 850 million during the period, a 140% increase from the same quarter a year earlier. Southeast Asia also recorded triple-digit year-on-year growth.
Viewers in the region are spending more time watching these stories, too. In April 2026, users in Southeast Asia spent nearly 40 minutes a day watching short dramas, well above the global average of 25 minutes. Globally, daily viewing time had increased by 85% since January 2025, according to Sensor Tower.
The growing audience is also translating into revenue. In Q1 2026, global in-app purchases for short-drama apps generated approximately US$750 million, up 20% year-on-year.
Sensor Tower's revenue estimates cover transactions through the App Store and Google Play, excluding advertising revenue and purchases made through third-party Android app stores.
Short Stories That Keep Viewers Coming Back
Short dramas, also known as microdramas, tell stories through episodes that typically last less than three minutes. A single series usually contains 50 to 90 episodes, with each installment designed to keep viewers following the story.
This format allows audiences to enjoy a complete storyline in short bursts, without setting aside time for a full television episode. More than 300 apps outside China now offer this type of content, according to Belt and Road News Network.
The format was already gaining momentum in Southeast Asia in early 2025. Sensor Tower recorded nearly 87 million short-drama app downloads in the region in Q1 2025, a 61% increase from the previous quarter. Worldwide downloads exceeded 370 million during the same period, 6.2 times the figure recorded in Q1 2024.
Some apps experienced particularly sharp growth. DramaWave, FreeReels, and Melolo saw their downloads in Southeast Asia increase 16-fold, 11-fold, and 21-fold, respectively, in Q1 2025.
A year later, FreeReels became the world's most downloaded short-drama app, with more than 100 million installations in Q1 2026, according to Sensor Tower.
More Viewers, Different Ways to Make Money
A large audience does not necessarily mean every app earns money in the same way. Melolo, for example, offers free content and relies on advertising.
Owned by ByteDance, the app launched in several international markets, including Indonesia and the Philippines, in mid-November 2024. Its release marked ByteDance's first move into the international microdrama market, according to TechNode.
Sensor Tower recorded continued growth for Melolo in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines in 2026. People's Daily Online also reported that the app had built a large audience through its advertising-based model.
In Indonesia, Melolo was the country's most downloaded short-drama app in 2025, followed by DramaBox, according to CNBC Indonesia.
Other platforms rely more heavily on in-app purchases. Interestingly, the countries with the most downloads are not necessarily those generating the highest revenue.
The Bangkok Post, citing Sensor Tower data, reported that Thailand led Southeast Asia in short-drama in-app purchase revenue, despite ranking third in regional downloads.
Telecommunications companies are also entering the market. Telkom Indonesia partnered with FlexTV to offer viewing packages in 2025.
DramaBox, operated by Dianzhong Tech, has also introduced bundled mobile data and content packages with telecommunications providers across Southeast Asia.
The number of paying microdrama users in the region increased by 28% year-on-year in 2025, according to Belt and Road News Network. This suggests that the market is moving beyond attracting viewers towards building a customer base willing to pay for content.
From Imported Shows to Local Productions
Southeast Asia's growing audience has encouraged Chinese microdrama companies to expand their production activities in the region. Some have begun establishing production hubs in Thailand and the Philippines, while one Chinese-produced short drama was filmed in Jakarta.
In Indonesia, digital media company IDN Times has acquired the rights to Chinese microdramas while also opening a local production division. This signals growing involvement from regional companies in an industry previously dominated by imported content, according to Belt and Road News Network.
These partnerships also create opportunities to share production skills and expertise. Zhu Xinmei, director of an international communications institute under China's National Radio and Television Administration's development research centre, said local companies were increasingly interested in producing their own short dramas.
They are seeking Chinese partners for story rights, production technology, and training in microdrama scriptwriting.
However, bringing a story from one country to another requires more than translating its dialogue. Liao Jianfeng of Indonesia's Nanyang Bridge Media argued that subtitles alone are not enough to attract Indonesian viewers.
Stories must also reflect local tastes and viewing habits, he told People's Daily Online.
Malaysia offers an example of how local production is taking shape. Thousands of Years Media released a Chinese New Year series titled When Luck Meets Love, with the entire scriptwriting, filming, and editing process handled by a Malaysian team.
The company's founder, Jment Lim, told Bernama in February 2026 that the company had previously hired consultants from China to learn how to produce microdramas.
Cross-border collaboration continued at the China-ASEAN Audiovisual Week in Beihai, Guangxi, in October 2026. The event resulted in ten project agreements, including deals for joint microdrama production.
One of them was The 101st Qiaopi, a script developed with Tourism Selangor that became one of the winning entries in the China-ASEAN microdrama competition.
An industry report released at the event projected that the microdrama market outside China would exceed US$6 billion in 2026, representing a 67% increase from 2025, according to People's Daily Online.
From app downloads to joint productions, short dramas are becoming a growing part of Southeast Asia's entertainment industry. The region is attracting millions of viewers while giving local and international companies new opportunities to develop stories, reach audiences, and build businesses.
