New Battle in Short Drama Overseas Expansion: Thailand Claims the Title of 'Biggest Spenders' in Southeast Asia, and TikTok Can't Sit Still

Have you noticed that it's getting harder and harder to sit down and finish a long TV series?

Scrolling for a few minutes on the subway, watching an episode during lunch break, catching another segment before bed — this kind of short drama that fits perfectly into the gaps of daily life is becoming an entertainment choice for more and more people. And the Chinese players who first mastered this model have now taken their business overseas, and it's growing bigger and bigger.

Source: google

The global short drama market is experiencing explosive growth.

First, let's look at some numbers. According to the 'State of Short Drama Apps 2026' report released by market research firm Sensor Tower, in the first quarter of 2026, global short drama app downloads exceeded 850 million, up 140% year-over-year; in-app purchase revenue reached approximately $750 million, up 20% year-over-year. Global user viewing time increased 478% year-over-year, reaching a cumulative 3.8 billion hours.

Downloads have more than doubled, revenue has grown by a fifth — overseas users are indeed paying for the short drama business.

Source: bangkokpost

Southeast Asia: The highest downloads, the longest viewing times, and Thais are the most willing to spend.

Among many overseas markets, Southeast Asia's performance is particularly outstanding. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, Southeast Asia contributed 32% of global short drama downloads, up 220% year-over-year; meanwhile, it contributed more than half of global short drama viewing time, with users spending an average of about 40 minutes per day on short drama apps.

Simply put: Southeast Asian users not only download more, but also watch longer.

But if we look at 'who is most willing to spend money,' the answer may surprise you: it's not the most populous Indonesia, but Thailand.

According to Sensor Tower data, in the first quarter of 2026, Thailand's short drama in-app purchase revenue reached $7.4 million, ranking first in Southeast Asia, higher than Indonesia's $5.2 million. During the same period, Thailand's short drama downloads approached 32 million, up about 120% year-over-year.

Currently, Thailand has about 9 million monthly active short drama users, and there are over 300 Chinese-exported standalone short drama apps in the country. It can be said that Thailand has become the most successful market for short drama commercialization in Southeast Asia.

Source: bangkokpost

TikTok's ambition: From 'water deliverer' to 'digging its own well'

Faced with such a fast-growing market, TikTok naturally will not sit idly by.

As early as January 2026, TikTok launched a short drama section on its lightweight mini-program platform 'TikTok Minis,' attracting more than ten short drama platforms to join. Users can watch directly within the app and pay to unlock episodes.

In the first quarter of 2026, TikTok short drama revenue sharing with global copyright holders exceeded $24 million (approximately RMB 170 million), setting a historical record for a single quarter. The overall traffic of short dramas on the platform surged 400% quarter-over-quarter, and the average user consumption time increased by 3.5 times.

Source: TikTok

With the data working out, TikTok's ideas also multiplied.

In February this year, ByteDance began publicly recruiting core positions such as short drama producers and script planners; in March, it launched global recruitment for self-produced short drama actors, covering 10 countries including the United States, Thailand, and Nigeria, while also applying for the 'TikTok Drama' trademark. From cooperation to self-production, from distribution to production, TikTok is step by step transforming from a 'short drama platform' into a 'short drama company'.

The latest move landed in Thailand.

In July 2026, TikTok Thailand announced it would further expand its mini-series business, partnering with local content production companies to build an in-platform entertainment ecosystem integrating content discovery, viewing, and payment.

The project is being rolled out in two phases: the first phase is planned to launch in the third quarter of 2026, and the second phase is expected to be launched in the later part of the third quarter and the fourth quarter. Users can pay directly within TikTok to unlock subsequent episodes, and the platform will also introduce a creator revenue-sharing mechanism.

This closed-loop model of "no external redirects" is exactly the same as the logic of TikTok's e-commerce business.

Image source: TikTok

Final Words

In the track of short dramas going overseas, the ceiling is far from being reached. Southeast Asia is becoming one of the fastest-growing regions for short dramas globally, Thailand has shown unexpectedly strong willingness to pay, and TikTok has transformed from a traffic platform into a content producer that participates directly. Coupled with AI technology reshaping the production side, the competitive logic of the entire industry is being rewritten.

In the future, those who can remain in this arena must be players who understand both traffic logic and local users, and can keep up with technological iterations. For ordinary viewers, there will only be more and more short dramas to watch—whether acted by real people or generated by AI.