Cineverse, Banyan Ventures launch major US microdrama studio and platform MicroCo
US studio Cineverse, venture capital outfit Banyan Ventures and a team of Hollywood heavyweights are looking to tap into the rapidly growing microdrama market with the launch of an LA-based startup called MicroCo.
The new company, structured as a 50-50 joint venture between Cineverse and Banyan Ventures, is both a studio for producing micro-series and a platform on which to stream them.
Former Showtime president Jana Winograde is CEO and co-founder of MicroCo, with former NBCUniversal Television and Streaming chairman Susan Rovner set to join in October as chief content officer.
Lloyd Braun, the former chairman of ABC Entertainment and a current partner in RedBird Capital-backed production studio Prologue Entertainment, is behind Banyan Ventures and will serve as chairman of the board for MicroCo. Two of Cineverse’s senior execs, chairman and CEO Chris McGurk and president and chief strategy officer Erick Opeka, are also part of MicroCo’s leadership team.
Microdramas have taken the Asian market by storm over the past few years, rapidly growing to become a multibillion-dollar industry and pioneering a new way to consume scripted storytelling. According to some estimates, the microdrama sector has become a US$7bn industry in China alone, while outside of China it is projected to become a US$10bn industry by 2027, MicroCo said.
The company’s leadership team says it plans to seize an untapped opportunity in the North American market, aiming to become the “first US-based studio and AI-native platform built specifically for high-quality micro-series: serialised, shortform, mobile-first content specifically designed for modern viewing habits.”
Other platforms, including ReelShort, which is owned by San Francisco-based Crazy Maple Studios and in turn backed by Beijing-based digital publisher COL Group, are already enjoying meaningful success in the North American market.
The MicroCo platform will launch soon (under a different, consumer-facing name), and will explore a variety of revenue models including advertising, in-app transaction and “other premium options for superfans.”
The company said it was aiming to combine a veteran Hollywood executive team with cutting-edge tech currently used by Cineverse, the company behind hit horror film Terrifier 3. As a result, MicroCo will have access to 150 million fans of genres including horror, sci-fi, anime, true crime and romance; a library of more than 70,000 assets, including series, films and podcasts, “some of which may be adapted into micro-series”; and Cineverse’s streaming infrastructure and 100-person team in India, plus its marketing capabilities.
The company also signalled that it wants to bring more traditional Hollywood creators into its ecosystem, saying it wants to “support them in expanding their creative footprint, giving them new ways to tell stories and deepen connections with their audiences.”
Braun said MicroCo will merge the “storytelling rigour of series television with the pace, energy and intimacy of shortform – creating addictive, emotionally rich, quality series that are developed specifically for this format and speak directly to how people consume content now.”
McGurk said the goal is to bring together a “new style of storytelling” and top-tier Hollywood acumen to build a “category defining” studio and platform. “Early results in the space have underscored the massive strategic upside of this new format, including the opportunity to build an original IP engine with global monetisation opportunities, to integrate brand partnerships, and support a robust creator economy flywheel.”
Winograde added: “Whether it’s leaning into genre or the creator community, we have the tools to meet fans in their native ecosystems and pull them into this new format and platform built just for them.”
