Advanced Television

Study: UK emerges as Europe’s leading microdrama market

May 29, 2026

The UK has emerged as Europe’s leading microdrama market, reaching 8.2 million monthly active users (MAUs) in 2025, according to analysis presented by Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media and Entertainment at Omdia, at Conecta event in Mallorca.
Microdramas are rapidly expanding beyond China and becoming one of the fastest-growing segments of the global media and entertainment industry.
According to Omdia, the US remains the largest market outside China, reaching 66 million MAUs in 2025. Emerging markets including India, Brazil and Mexico also significantly outpace Europe in audience scale, highlighting the format’s growing global appeal. Within Europe, however, the UK has established itself as the region’s most advanced market, ahead of Germany, which reached 4.4 million MAUs in 2025.
“Microdramas are becoming a major force in mobile entertainment,” said Rua Aguete, “What we are seeing is not simply a new content format but a new viewing behaviour. Audiences increasingly want premium storytelling designed specifically for smartphones, delivered in short episodes and optimised for daily consumption.”
Omdia estimates that global microdrama revenues reached $11 billion (€9.4bn) in 2025 and will surpass $14 billion in 2026. By 2030, the market is forecast to exceed $22 billion, with international markets accounting for nearly one-third of total revenues.
During her presentation at Conecta10 Mallorca, Rua Aguete highlighted the growing demand for local-language content and the increasing interest among Spanish producers, broadcasters and platforms in developing microdrama content.
“Spain may not yet be among the world’s largest microdrama markets, but it is becoming an increasingly important production centre,” commented Rua Aguete. “We are seeing growing demand for Spanish-language content, both within Spain and internationally. Broadcasters, producers and streaming platforms are actively exploring the opportunities that microdramas create.”
The growing interest from producers comes despite criticism from some parts of the industry regarding the quality and themes of early microdrama productions.
“Microdramas are a format, not a genre,” added Rua Aguete. “If producers want different stories, they can create them. The format’s early success was driven by billionaire romances and highly addictive storytelling, but the market is evolving rapidly. We are already seeing new genres emerge, including thrillers, crime dramas, reality formats, comedy, fantasy and family entertainment. Almost any genre can work in a short-form format.”
Spanish broadcasters are already beginning to experiment with the category, with companies including RTVE and Atresmedia exploring microdrama productions as part of a broader effort to reach mobile audiences

Categories: Articles, Content, Markets, Research

Tags: , , , ,