ReelShort, the US-based micro-drama app that has become one of the leaders of the format globally, has struck a distribution deal with Globe, a major Philippine telecommunications company. This agreement is ReelShort’s second partnership in Southeast Asia in two months, as it aggressively seeks to target mobile-first audiences in the region. The partnership, unveiled at the APOS conference in Bali, will integrate ReelShort’s library of bite-sized dramas into Globe’s offerings for Filipino customers.
Globe, whose major shareholders are Philippines’ Ayala and Singapore’s Singtel, will open ReelShort to its subscribers in a market that consistently ranks among the most mobile internet users in the world. The deal was brokered by AR Global Media Network, for which ReelShort has appointed the exclusive distribution representative in Southeast Asia.
Globe’s deal mirrors ReelShort’s first moves into the region in April, when it teamed up with Thailand’s AIS – bundling a co-branded, heavily discounted subscription into the company’s mobile plans. For a service built on impulse viewing, telecom deals buy instant access and included billing in price-sensitive markets where it can be difficult to convince users to sign up directly. In Thailand, the AIS add-on is priced at around $1 per month, versus ReelShort’s standard price of around $17.50.
“Following the overwhelming response we received in Thailand, partnering with Globe in the Philippines is a major milestone in our regional growth strategy,” said Joey Jia, CEO of Crazy Maple Studio, ReelShort’s parent company.
Founded in 2022, ReelShort says it reaches more than 70 million monthly users in more than 100 countries, with a library of nearly 3,000 titles built on the staples of the genre — billionaire romances, revenge sagas and action-driven melodramas. (One retaliatory strike, Bound by honorattracting hundreds of millions of views, the platform says.) ReelShort made its name by selling small, well-produced English-language dramas to Western audiences, in contrast to the Chinese platforms that pioneered the genre. Crazy Maple Studio is headquartered in Silicon Valley, but counts China’s COL Group as its largest outside shareholder, with a stake of about 49 percent.
The trend in Southeast Asia sees ReelShort facing a crowded field, with its closest competitor being Chinese company DramaBox, as major smaller drama players rush to grab market share in fast-growing mobile markets. Despite huge growth in users, microdramas have yet to prove profitable on a large scale, with heavy expenses on content and marketing weighing heavily on many operators.
For Globe, the deal expands a content aggregation strategy aimed at keeping mobile subscribers engaged offline.
