{"id":3105651,"date":"2026-03-25T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?post_type=tc_video&#038;p=3105651"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:30:00","slug":"how-soap-opera-tiktok-hybrids-became-a-billion-dollar-business","status":"publish","type":"tc_video","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/video\/how-soap-opera-tiktok-hybrids-became-a-billion-dollar-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How\u00a0soap opera-TikTok hybrids\u00a0became a billion-dollar business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div id='jwppp-video-box-31056511' class='jwppp-video-box' itemprop='video' itemscope itemtype='http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject' data-video='1' style=\"margin: 1rem 0;\">\n<meta itemprop='name' content='How soap opera-TikTok hybrids became a billion-dollar market | Equity Podcast'\/>\n<meta itemprop='description' content='Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into a multi-billion dollar business. They&#039;re called \u201cmicro dramas\u201d \u2014 short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading app, ReelShort, made $1.2 billion in consumer spending last year alone.On this episode of TechCrunch&#039;s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan and TechCrunch senior reporter Amanda Silberling sit down with Henry Soong, founder of Watch Club, who thinks the micro drama industry is still &quot;in its MySpace era.&quot; He has a vision for what the Facebook moment could look like. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:11 Why micro dramas, and why now? 04:25 What makes Watch Club different 07:29 The monetization model problem 18:52 Optimizing for intentionality, not engagement 24:23 Why Quibby failed (content, product &amp; business model) 28:22 Defensibility: tech company or studio? 31:36 AI, the WGA, and the future of storytelling 33:44 Outro'\/>\n<meta itemprop='duration' content='PT0H34M54S'\/>\n<meta itemprop='thumbnailUrl' content='https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/thumbs\/WiqsoTvP-720.jpg'\/>\n<meta itemprop='uploadDate' content='2026-03-25T08:30:00-07:00'\/>\n<meta itemprop='contentUrl' content='https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/media\/WiqsoTvP'\/>\n<span class=\"jwppp-instant\" style=\"display: none;\" data-video=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?jwp-instant-articles=1&#038;player=GQNKsmiX&#038;mediaID=WiqsoTvP\" data-width=\"480\" data-height=\"270\"><\/span><div id='jwppp-video-31056511' class='jwplayer'>Loading the player...<\/div>\n<script class=\"tcembed-script\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/libraries\/GQNKsmiX.js\"><\/script><script type='text\/javascript'>\nvar playerInstance_31056511 = jwplayer( \"jwppp-video-31056511\" );\nplayerInstance_31056511.setup({\nplaylist: \"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/media\/WiqsoTvP\",\n})\n<\/script><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/01\/23\/tiktok-like-microdramas-are-going-to-make-billions-this-year-even-though-they-kind-of-suck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a multi-billion dollar business<\/a>.&nbsp;They&#8217;re&nbsp;called \u201cmicro dramas\u201d \u2014 short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading app,&nbsp;ReelShort, made&nbsp;$1.2 billion&nbsp;in consumer spending last year alone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this episode of TechCrunch&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/podcasts\/equity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Equity<\/a>&nbsp;podcast,&nbsp;Rebecca Bellan and TechCrunch senior reporter Amanda&nbsp;Silberling&nbsp;sit down with Henry Soong, founder of Watch Club, who thinks the micro drama industry is still &#8220;in its&nbsp;MySpace&nbsp;era.&#8221;&nbsp;He&nbsp;has a vision for what the Facebook moment could look like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Subscribe to Equity on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TechCrunch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/id1215439780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u00a0Apple Podcasts<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/overcast.fm\/itunes1215439780\/equity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u00a0Overcast<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u00a0Spotify<\/a>\u00a0and all the casts. You\u00a0also can\u00a0follow Equity on<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EquityPod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@equitypod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u00a0Threads<\/a>, at @EquityPod.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574571,"featured_media":3105652,"template":"","meta":{"tc-featured-article":false,"tc-header-option":"","tc-breaking-news":false,"tc-article-brief":false,"carmot_uuid":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-03-25T15:30:13Z","apple_news_api_id":"713bc854-69d0-4048-b221-9683a04c8248","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-03-25T15:30:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AcTvIVGnQQEiyIZaDoEyCSA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"tc_sponsors":[],"tc_exclude_from_rss_feed":false,"tc_exclude_from_content_rivers":true},"categories":[20429,577030456,577055593],"tags":[576849806,577207992,577323202,577369402,577370423,577370771],"tc_region":[],"tc_collection_tax":[],"tc_storyline_tax":[],"coauthors":[577084855],"class_list":["post-3105651","tc_video","type-tc_video","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startups","category-media-entertainment","category-social","tag-creator-economy","tag-reelshort","tag-consumer-apps","tag-equity-video","tag-watch-club","tag-microdramas"],"video_duration":"PT34M54S","apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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