TikTok has released a new standalone short drama app called PineDrama in the US and Brazil. The app offers access to micro-dramas, which are essentially bite-sized TV shows that can be watched in a series of one-minute episodes. Try TikTok, but every video you find is a short episode of a fictional story.
PineDrama is available at iOS and Android. It’s free and currently ad-free, although that may change in the future.
This news was first reported by Business Insider.
You can find content through the app’s “Find” tab, where you can sort by “All” or “Trending Dramas, or through unlimited vertical recommendations that suit your tastes. PineDrama features a variety of genres, including thrillers, romance, family, and more. Examples of popular shows include “Love at First Bite” and “The Officer Fell For Me.”
The app has a “Watching history” section where you can jump back to the various series you are currently watching. There is also a “Favorites” section where you can save your favorite dramas. You can also share your thoughts with other viewers in the comments section, and enter a full-screen viewing experience that will get rid of captions and sidebars.
The move came when TikTok was launched “TokTokTok Minis” section in the app last year, where users can watch micro dramas.
With the launch of PineDrama, TikTok is taking on popular micro drama platforms like ReelShort and DramaBox. While the micro-drama industry was not popular until a few years ago, it will reach an annual revenue of $26 billion by 2030, as reported variety.
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Short stories are not always successful, even with famous backing. In 2020, DreamWorks founder and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg launched a short-lived streaming platform called Quibi with $1.75 billion in funding. The platform offered less than 10-minute episodes featuring popular Hollywood actors, but it failed to gain traction and was shut down six months later.
ReelShort and DramaBox succeeded where Quibi failed because while Quibi tried to compress Hollywood TV into shorter episodes, ReelShort and DramaBox created low-budget stories that grabbed the audience in the first few seconds, followed by continuous cliffhangers, all featuring non-union talent. Also, they target fans of romance soap operas and revenge thriller stories, while Quibi tries to target everyone.
TikTok is now looking to replicate this success with PineDrama. The company has dominated the social media space for a short time and is now aiming to take on other media categories.