New data released by Digital i research says that women aged 35 and older are leading viewership of microdramas on YouTube, with “significant” under-viewing from men in all age groups.
The data was presented by media consultant Beatrice Rossmanith at Series Mania Forum in Lille this morning, exploring viewership on the official YouTube channels of microdrama apps DramaBox, ReelShort, FlickReels, My Drama and CandyJar. The study examines consumption trends in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
Female YouTube users spent a higher proportion of their time on these microdrama channels than their typical overall YouTube usage. Per Digital i, female YouTube users aged between 35 and 44 accounted for 11.5% of all streams in the measured countries last year, but 20.8% of streams to these five microdrama channels.
Older female viewers, 45 to 54, are also heavily engaged with the genre, with 15.7% of streams to the channels—more than double their 7.7% share of overall YouTube streams.
Men, meanwhile, are tuning out; males 18 to 24 represented 6% of microdrama streams but 13.7% of all YouTube streaming activity.
Microdrama channel users also watched more content overall on YouTube. The average YouTube user watched 10.9 standard videos and 14.7 Shorts per day, while microdrama channel visitors watched 13.8 standard videos and 21.5 Shorts.
“Our latest research provides a major insight into how specific demographics are migrating toward ultra-short-form scripted content,” said Digital i analyst Sam Vahdati. “The fact that women over 35 are not only heavily over-engaging with microdrama channels but that viewers of these channels are also significantly more active across the entire YouTube platform demonstrates the power of this content as an overall engagement driver.
“Understanding these high-engagement viewers is essential for navigating an increasingly fragmented global market.”
