MyDrama, NetShort, and the Tier-2 Platform Opportunity in Vertical Drama

ReelShort and DramaBox get most of the coverage. They earn it. DramaBox, ReelShort, and NetShort together captured over half of total market revenue by mid-2025, which means the conversation about where to place content, who to pitch, and which platforms are worth a producer's time tends to collapse into those two names at the top. People's Daily

That collapse is a strategic mistake for production companies building toward platform relationships in 2026. The tier-2 platforms, the ones with real revenue, real audiences, and active acquisition needs, are where most of the actual content partnership opportunities exist right now. The top two platforms are increasingly supply-constrained by their own in-house production pipelines. The platforms one tier below them are actively looking for content.

This is the breakdown on MyDrama and NetShort: what each platform is, what it acquires, what the content requirements look like, and what the opportunity is for production companies building toward a first deal.

Why Tier-2 Platforms Matter More Than They Appear To

The vertical drama market is not a two-platform market. Over 200 active apps exist worldwide, but revenue is concentrated among a small group of leaders. The platforms in the tier immediately below ReelShort and DramaBox are generating meaningful revenue, building catalog aggressively, and competing for production partners who can deliver at volume. Medium

Mid-tier platforms like FlexTV, MyDrama, and others generate $20 to $50 million annually. That is not a small number for a content category that did not exist five years ago. It is the revenue base of a platform that has proven its monetization model and is now competing to grow its catalog fast enough to hold its audience against the platforms above it.

For production companies, the tier-2 opportunity is structurally different from pitching the top platforms. ReelShort and DramaBox have established supplier relationships, significant in-house production capacity, and clear genre preferences that are now well-documented. Tier-2 platforms are still defining their content identity, still building supplier relationships, and often more accessible to production companies that are not yet established names in the category.

MyDrama: The Platform That Fox Backed

What MyDrama Is

MyDrama is a vertical drama streaming platform owned by Holywater, a Ukrainian technology company co-founded by Anatolii Kasianov. It launched in April 2024 and has grown faster than almost any other non-Chinese vertical drama platform outside the top two.

The Holywater and MyDrama story is the most important case study in AI-native vertical drama production outside China. Ukrainian vertical shorts player MyDrama, owned by Holywater, launched in April 2024 but is already bumping up production from four to six series per month to 15 by the end of the year. Its goal for 2026 is to ramp up to 30 series per month and $1 billion in revenue to become competitive in the market. The tool for scaling up at a fraction of the cost: AI. LLMrefs

The platform's production model is explicit about how it uses AI. Holywater operates a separate app, MyMuse, as a testing environment for AI-generated content. Holywater uses the app as a way to test storylines that it will then produce with actors for MyDrama. The goal for MyMuse is to release 100 AI-generated short series per month in 2026. For MyDrama, the company uses AI for dubbing and subtitles but not for storytelling. LLMrefs

That distinction matters for production partners approaching MyDrama. The platform's creative standards are human-driven at the script and performance level. AI is applied at the production efficiency and localization layer, not at the storytelling layer.

The Fox Entertainment Partnership

In late 2024, Fox Entertainment acquired an equity stake in Holywater and committed to producing at least 200 vertical series over two years for distribution on MyDrama. In January 2026, Fox and Dhar Mann Studios added a separate deal for 40 more titles exclusively on the platform. LLMrefs

That partnership changes MyDrama's competitive position significantly. A platform with 200 Fox-produced series in its pipeline over two years has a content supply that most tier-2 platforms cannot match. It also raises the production quality bar for content that appears alongside Fox-branded originals.

For external production partners, the Fox deal has two implications. First, MyDrama is clearly investing in content quality rather than pure volume. Productions that do not meet a professional standard will stand out negatively against Fox-produced originals in the same catalog. Second, the platform's content appetite is large and its production partnerships are actively growing. The 200 Fox series commitment does not close the door on other production partners. It signals that the platform is in active acquisition mode.

What MyDrama Looks For

MyDrama's content positioning emphasizes polished production values and emotionally resonant storytelling that competes with legacy entertainment platforms rather than positioning itself as a budget alternative. MyDrama has been compared directly with legacy players like ReelShort and is known for production values that feel a bit more like traditional television adapted for phones. NCalculators

Genre preferences track the broader vertical drama market: romance, betrayal, power dynamics, secret identity, and revenge arcs. The emotional register the platform targets is slightly more elevated than pure genre entertainment, reflecting the Fox partnership's influence on the platform's content direction.

Localization is a defined strength of the platform. Holywater has garnered 2 billion social impressions per month from its AI-generated and original short drama content. A production approaching MyDrama with content that is localization-ready, clean audio stems, subtitle masters, and adaptation for multiple language markets, is a more attractive partner than one delivering English-only content. LLMrefs

NetShort: The Fast-Moving Challenger

What NetShort Is

NetShort is a Singapore-headquartered short drama platform that emerged as one of the most significant growth stories in the vertical drama space in 2025. Several short drama apps launched in the second half of 2024, including NetShort, DramaWave, and FlickReels, recorded impressive revenue growth and successfully entered the top 10 revenue rankings for overseas markets. In March 2025, NetShort launched several viral short dramas including "Evil Bride vs CEO's Secret Mom", propelling the app into a phase of accelerated growth. In Q1 2025, its in-app revenue grew 171% quarter-on-quarter, securing the number 5 spot in overseas short drama app revenue rankings. YourStory

171% quarter-on-quarter revenue growth is not a platform that is finding its footing. It is a platform that has found its audience and is now scaling as fast as its content pipeline allows.

Content Strategy and Genre Focus

NetShort's content strategy is built around emotionally intense narratives optimized for binge-watching behavior. NetShort focuses on emotionally intense narratives that encourage binge watching. The platform invests heavily in digital marketing campaigns to attract users. Medium

The genre positioning overlaps significantly with the broader vertical drama market: CEO and billionaire romance, revenge arcs, betrayal, secret identity reveals, and supernatural elements. Where NetShort has differentiated is in its willingness to invest in marketing behind content that is demonstrating early traction. The "Evil Bride vs CEO's Secret Mom" viral moment was the result of a platform that backed a title with sufficient marketing spend to generate organic amplification.

For production companies, that marketing investment posture is a meaningful signal. A platform that invests in promoting its content is a more valuable distribution partner than one that acquires content and lists it without promotional support. The difference shows up directly in conversion rates and episode completion metrics.

Acquisition Posture

NetShort's rapid growth phase means it is in active content acquisition mode. A platform that grew 171% in a single quarter is not turning down production partnerships. It is looking for supply that can keep pace with the audience it is building.

The content requirements at NetShort align with the broader vertical drama standard: strong episode-one hooks, escalating tension across the arc, proper cliffhanger placement at the paywall, clean mobile-calibrated audio, and 9:16 framing built for the format rather than adapted from widescreen. A platform growing at this pace does not have the luxury of extensive revision requests. Content that arrives delivery-ready with strong structural fundamentals moves faster through acquisition review.

Sphere: A Note on Emerging Platforms

Sphere appears in the vertical drama conversation as an emerging platform name but does not yet have the public revenue data, acquisition track record, or documented content strategy that would allow a reliable platform breakdown at this stage. Including fabricated or speculative details would not serve producers or platform buyers using this as a reference.

The pattern that Sphere and similar emerging platforms fit is consistent across the market: new entrants targeting a specific genre niche or geographic market, building a content library at lower acquisition cost than the established platforms, and competing on content freshness rather than catalog depth. For production companies at an early stage of platform relationship building, emerging platforms in this tier offer the most accessible entry point with the lowest pitch competition, at the cost of lower distribution reach and less established monetization infrastructure.

How Tier-2 Platforms Compare to the Top Two

The differences between MyDrama and NetShort versus ReelShort and DramaBox are structural, not just scale-related.

Content ownership posture. ReelShort and DramaBox both have significant in-house production capacity and pursue exclusive IP ownership aggressively. MyDrama and NetShort are more reliant on external production partners to fill their slates, which creates more accessible acquisition conversations for independent production companies.

Genre flexibility. The top platforms have established genre preferences that are well-documented and increasingly difficult to deviate from. Tier-2 platforms are still testing which genre angles perform best with their specific audiences. A production that sits slightly outside the mainstream vertical drama genre conventions has more room to succeed on a platform that is still defining its catalog identity.

Marketing investment. NetShort's willingness to invest in marketing behind individual titles creates a distribution dynamic that is different from simply listing content in a catalog. A platform that actively promotes its titles changes the revenue upside for production partners who have negotiated revenue-sharing arrangements.

Acquisition accessibility. Getting a first meeting with ReelShort or DramaBox's acquisition team as an unestablished production company is genuinely difficult. The tier-2 platforms are more accessible, their acquisition processes are less formalized, and the relationship-building path is shorter.

Axis AI Studios Perspective

The tier-2 platform opportunity is the most underserved conversation in vertical drama production right now.

Most production companies spend their energy pitching the platforms at the top of the market and treating every other platform as a consolation prize. That logic is backwards for a production company that does not yet have an established catalog and platform relationships.

MyDrama is a platform with Fox Entertainment backing, a 30-series-per-month production target, and an AI-native production philosophy that aligns directly with what AI-native studios are building. NetShort grew 171% in a single quarter and is actively building its content supply. These are not fallback platforms. They are platforms in their highest-growth phase, with the most open acquisition posture they will ever have.

The production companies that build platform relationships with MyDrama and NetShort now are the ones that will have established track records on those platforms when they approach ReelShort and DramaBox. That sequencing is not a compromise. It is a strategy.

For platforms at any tier looking for a production partner who can deliver content that meets the structural requirements the format demands, reach out at business@axisaistudios.com.

Buyer Decision Framework: Which Tier-2 Platform Fits Your Production?

Produce for MyDrama if:
Your series has elevated production values that compete with traditional entertainment. You have localization capability across multiple language markets. Your IP or production model aligns with what Fox Entertainment is building in vertical drama. You are comfortable with a platform that applies AI at the efficiency layer but expects human-quality storytelling.

Produce for NetShort if:
Your series is built around high-intensity, binge-driving emotional content. You want a platform that invests in marketing behind individual titles. You are producing in the genres that vertical drama has proven at scale: CEO romance, revenge, betrayal, secret identity. You want the most accessible acquisition conversation in the tier immediately below the category leaders.

FAQ

Is MyDrama the Same as the Holywater App?

MyDrama is Holywater's primary vertical drama streaming platform. Holywater also operates MyMuse, a separate app used to test AI-generated content and storylines before committing to full production with actors on MyDrama. They are distinct products serving different functions within the same company's content strategy.

How Fast Is NetShort Growing?

NetShort's in-app purchase revenue grew 171% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2025, securing the number 5 position in overseas short drama app revenue rankings. That growth rate places it in a different category from most emerging platforms and reflects both the viral performance of specific titles and the platform's investment in digital marketing to amplify content that demonstrates early traction.

Should Production Companies Approach Tier-2 Platforms Before or After the Top Platforms?

For production companies without an established vertical drama catalog and platform track record, approaching tier-2 platforms first is the strategically correct sequence. The acquisition process is more accessible, the platform's content needs are more open to new partners, and a successful series on MyDrama or NetShort creates the track record that makes a ReelShort or DramaBox pitch significantly stronger.

Further Reading

For how the top two platforms that tier-2 players are competing against evaluate and acquire content, the GoodShort vs ReelShort platform comparison covers both acquisition models in detail.

For the production cost context that determines what a tier-2 platform commission can viably cover, the vertical drama production costs breakdown covers every budget tier with real figures.

For the hook and episode structure that determines whether content performs on any of these platforms, the hook writing guide for the first 7 seconds covers the opening mechanics that drive viewer continuation.