Peacock is dipping its toe into micro dramas by teaming up with ReelShort, Business Insider has learned.
NBCUniversal is bringing 10 micro dramas from category leader ReelShort to its flagship streamer’s mobile app starting on Thursday, two people familiar with the initiative told Business Insider. The company confirmed the deal but didn’t disclose terms.
The Peacock-ReelShort deal is a short-term licensing arrangement that will precede a pair of Bravo original micro dramas arriving on Peacock this summer, said John Jelley, NBCUniversal’s SVP of product and user experience for Peacock.
“We have got a lot of confidence that doing more in the vertical video space is really good for our users and really good for Peacock,” Jelley told Business Insider.
Micro dramas are bite-sized soap operas known for their cliffhangers, and many have romantic-fantasy themes.
NBCU “handpicked” the ReelShort micro dramas it’s putting on Peacock, Jelley said. Those titles include “Fated To My Forbidden Alpha,” “The Call Boy I Met In Paris,” and “Baby, Just Say Yes!” a person familiar with the deal said. ReelShort, a privately held company, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The Peacock parent unveiled its first two planned micro drama originals from Bravo this week at its annual presentation to ad buyers: “Campus Confidential: Miami” and “Salon Confessionals with Madison LeCroy.” However, it didn’t announce its ReelShort licensing deal at the time.
Jelley said bringing ReelShort’s micro dramas aboard temporarily will help NBCU “make sure that this new format — like all of our new formats that we’re testing — really resonates with fans.”
“There’s a lot of differences, subtle differences, between these different types of vertical video — how people click through, how long they stay, how they navigate — and we want to really understand that,” Jelley said.
Hollywood has become enamored with short-form vertical video, which increasingly dominates social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. YouTube Shorts have also gained popularity in the last few years.
NBCU added vertical video clips to the Peacock mobile app last year, and in recent weeks, rivals Disney+, Netflix, and Paramount+ have followed suit. Peacock subscribers can now scroll through Bravo clips, sports highlights, and even AI-generated videos — including a digital avatar of Andy Cohen.
These streamers hope that short-form video can help them boost engagement, especially among younger viewers.
