TikTok has quietly released a new standalone short drama app called PineDrama in the US and Brazil. This app provides access to microdramas. Microdramas are essentially bite-sized television shows that are available as a series of one-minute episodes. Think TikTok. But every video you see is a short episode of a fictional story.
PineDrama is available on iOS and Android. It’s free and currently has no ads, but that may change in the future.
The news was first reported by Business Insider.
You can find content from the app’s Discover tab. There you can sort ‘All’ or ‘Trending’ dramas and find content from endless vertical recommendations tailored to your tastes. Pine dramas come in a variety of genres, including thrillers, romance, and family. Examples of popular shows include “Love at First Bite” and “The Police Fell for Me.”
The app has a “watching history” section where you can go back to the different series you’re watching. There is also a “Favorites” section where you can save the dramas you like the most. You can also share your thoughts with other viewers in the comments section, or enter for a full-screen experience without captions or sidebars.
The move comes as TikTok launched a “TikTok Minis” section within the app late last year that allows users to watch microdramas. With the launch of PineDrama, TikTok takes over popular microdrama platforms such as ReelShort and DramaBox. The microdrama industry wasn’t all that popular until recent years, but Variety reports that it’s vying for $26 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
Short-form storytelling, even with notable support, is not always successful. In 2020, DreamWorks co-founder and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg raised $1.75 billion to launch a short-form streaming platform called Quibi. The platform offered episodes of less than 10 minutes featuring popular Hollywood actors, but it failed to gain traction and was shut down after six months.
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ReelShort and DramaBox succeeded where Quibi failed because while Quibi tried to compress Hollywood TV into short episodes, ReelShort and DramaBox created low-budget stories that captivated viewers in the first few seconds, followed by a cliffhanger, and all featured non-union talent. Additionally, while they target fans of soapy romance and revenge thriller stories, Quibi tried to target everyone.
TikTok is now trying to replicate this success with PineDrama. The company already dominates the short-form social media space and is now looking to expand into other media categories.
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