ReelShort is an American-based company owned by Crazy Maple Studio, which is backed and partially owned by

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

-based digital publisher

COL Group COL Group Co Ltd () is a digital content company with over 20 years of experience in the digital culture industry. Founded in 2000, the company focuses on the development and application of IP across multiple content formats and integrates AI tec ...

. It is a short-form video streaming app specializing in

duanju Duanju ( zh, s=短剧, t=短劇, hp=duǎn jù}), sometimes translated in English as short drama, vertical drama, microdrama, minidrama or mobile drama, is a type of short form web or television series that has gained popularity in China. These seri ...

s designed for mobile viewing, often referred to as vertical entertainment. ReelShort's

s (short drama) emphasize rapid

plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change ...

s, heightened emotional conflicts, and minimal character development. The production values are notably low, with simple sets,

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

s, and a cast of predominantly unknown actors.

Background

Despite the failure of similar short-format television platforms in the United States, such as the closure of

Quibi Quibi ( ) was an American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman as CEO. The service raised $ ...

in 2020, it has become a popular format in China. Initially filling a void created by movie theater closures during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

became popular with Chinese viewers seeking quick entertainment. ReelShort was founded in August 2022 to introduce

to an international audience.

Production

Crazy Maple Studio, the production company behind ReelShort, it was founded with the intention of introducing

s to an international audience. The studio maintains an additional office in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, China.

Business model

ReelShort uses a

virtual currency Virtual currency, or virtual money, is a digital currency that is typically unregulated, issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted electronically among the members of a specific virtual community as part of a virtua ...

system where users can purchase coins to unlock additional episodes of their shows. These coins can be acquired by watching advertisements within the app or by purchasing them directly. Reelshort has seen a 992% increase in downloads between 2023 and 2024, from 3.4 million in Q1 2023 to 37 million in early 2024.

Programs

* ''Fated to My Forbidden Alpha'' * ''Married at First Sight'' * ''Never Divorce a Secret Billionaire Heiress'' * ''Snatched a Billionaire to Be My Husband'' * ''Son-in-Law's Revenge'' * ''The CEO's Contract Wife'' * ''The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband'' * ''True Luna'' * ''True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee'' * ''Maid for my Nemesis'' * ''The Virgin's Bucket List'' * ''Love Me Two Times'' * ''Daddy December'' * ''Breaking the Ice'' * ''The Senator's Son'' * ''Saved by the Sexy Cowboy'' * ''Wings of Fire: The Dragon Slayer Is My Ex-Lover'' * ''The Cursed Alpha's Mute Bride'' * ''Mommy Don’t Cry, Daddy is Sorry'' * ''Summer Situationship'' * ''The Lost Son Returns as the Duke'' (in production)

References

{{VOD services 2022 software 2020s fads and trends Android (operating system) software IOS software Chinese brands Vertical video

Background

Production

Business model

Programs

See also

References