Paramount+ is moving into micro dramas as Hollywood falls in love with short video

• Paramount is planning to integrate bite-sized micro dramas into its app.
• David Ellison’s company has already added a short-form video feed.
• Paramount’s Hollywood rivals are also investing in short videos and micro dramas.

Paramount+ is preparing to add micro dramas to its app in the coming months, Business Insider has learned.

Paramount will test micro dramas — soapy series with snack-sized episodes — on its flagship streamer’s mobile app this quarter, streaming leaders told employees in a town hall on Wednesday afternoon.

These short, buzzy vertical shows are designed to build “mobile daily habits at scale” by “recalibrating consumption behavior” as audiences get used to watching Paramount+ on the go and during the day, according to a screenshot of the town hall presentation viewed by Business Insider.

The presentation included mocked-up examples of what micro dramas could look like.

A person familiar with the micro drama project described the plans as “very early stages.”

Paramount+ has already added a short-form video feed to its mobile app, which David Ellison’s company hopes will make the streamer more like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

“We’re trying to drive visit frequency, keeping people engaged in the app longer,” a person familiar with the short-form initiative previously told Business Insider.

BET, a division of Paramount focused on Black audiences, announced in May a micro drama partnership with aTwist, formerly known as MicroCo.

Hollywood has fallen in love with short-form video, including micro dramas. Netflix and Disney+ have added short vertical clips to their apps this year, while Peacock has led the charge into micro dramas by making its own shows and licensing from category leader ReelShort. Netflix is also leaning into creator content and three-minute videos.

Ellison’s move into micro dramas comes as Paramount Skydance deals with legal drama surrounding its Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

A federal judge put the merger on hold by issuing a temporary restraining order, following a lawsuit by 12 states. Paramount’s plan to buy WBD has already been approved by the US Department of Justice and European regulators.

Read the original article on Business Insider