ReelShort: The Cost of Vertical Video Shlock
Why vertical dramas?
Make no mistake! The invention of vertical dramas is another ploy for our corporate overlords to monetize IP. Before you riot, dear reader, I would appreciate a few minutes to preach from my digital soapbox. Understanding the state of modern digital media and its evolution is crucial to protecting our wallets and jobs. Let’s not forget that the company's bottom line comes before the consumer. Therefore, our financial and personal safety should take precedence over greedy businesses.
By now, you're probably asking yourself why I sound like a bleeding heart. One: it's been a rough day, and two: I've been getting ads for vertical dramas, and I want to talk about them. Exploring the inner workings of ReelShort seems like a good place to start. Its creation, intention, and business practices are a perfect study for the potential evolution of short-form video content and the entertainment industry.
My experience with ReelShort
My reluctant relationship with ReelShort starts with a case of mistaken identity. I was getting so many ads for vertical dramas on YouTube that my brain turned them into mush. They all look similar and follow similar plotlines. The ReelShort ad I got featured a drama of the same name, but with different actors. The mischievous project was titled "30 Years Frozen, 3 Brothers Regret." The same show was running on another vertical drama app called DramaWave. In my search for the show, I accidentally downloaded ReelShort.
They were both running the same shlock. Copy and paste. If that's not symbolism for the current state of vertical dramas, then I don't know what is.
If you're curious about this topic, my ReelShort app review broaches the subject.
The nitty gritty: ReelShort’s parent company
I’ll begin by disclosing that much of my knowledge of the subject derives from publications, Real Reel, and Indiewire. I reference “Who’s Really Behind ReelShort? Why they can make $30M+ a Month in 2025?” by Reel Reel and “ReelShort Isn’t Quibi” by Brian Welk specifically. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend these articles.
Now, without further ado…
Our story begins in a shoe box office in Beijing. It was the year 2000, and recent Tsinghua graduates were planning their own link board for tech bro™ domination. I'm having a laugh, but the Reel Reel does point to the ReelShort's parent company, Chinese Online (COL Group), having multiple founders. I don't doubt that they did, but the person credited as the founder is Zhilei (Ray) Tong. His profile states that he founded COL Group while attending Tsinghua University.
Upon my research, I assumed the company would be listed as a technology or entertainment company, but I was mistaken. COL Group is currently listed in the Customer Defense sector and operates in the Education and Training Services industry.
Never judge a book by its cover, kids.
According to Real Reel, the company allegedly gained traction by converting pirated web novels into PDFs. However, the COL Group website claims that they mainly focused on education and establishing the Online Alliance of Anti-Piracy from 2002 to 2005. These conflicting accounts are baffling. Like all things, the truth probably exists somewhere in the middle. However, it’s strange to think that a company allegedly built on piracy was fighting against piracy. Perhaps this discrepancy is indicative of their business ventures, which skirt ethical lines.
COL Group is responsible for the creation of 17K.com, which is still accessible today. It's an online platform that mostly houses novels and other digital content. 17K.com steadily grew in popularity, accompanying COL Group's blossoming portfolio of digital libraries and other reading platforms. Their upward momentum continued onward into 2010, by which point they hosted 5.6 million titles and 45 million registered authors.
Not bad, eh.
COL Group ran to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2015 with a hop, skip, and a jump. After becoming a publicly traded company, they sold translated literature to Kindle. As you’ll see, the practice of selling translated content has supplemented ReelShort.
With a hop, skip, and a jump, COL Group entered the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2015. As a publicly traded company, they began selling translated literature to Kindle. As you’ll find out, the practice of selling translated content has also supplemented ReelShort.
The creation of ReelShort
The global content distribution game brought executives to the California Bay Area in 2016, where they established Crazy Maple Studio (CMS). CMS discovered a pot of gold by following the interactive chapter game trend to the big bucks. In case anyone recalls, Chapters: Interactive Stories, you have CMS to thank for that 2017 gem. Chapters: Interactive Stories is still around with 4.4/5 stars on the Google Play store. It’s a choose-your-own-story app with oodles of romance, drama, and mafia stories. The app will prompt players to purchase tickets and diamonds to progress the story.
Hum? Why does that sound familiar? Maybe because ReelShort is another gamified CMS app overrun by similar content kept behind a paywall.
Hey! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I know I’ve let the cat out of the bag, but CMS created RealShort. The app was launched in 2022 by CMS founder Joey Jia. Chapters: Interactive Stories did so well (top five in US visual novels) that they tested the waters in the short-form content industry. Short-form content gained traction in 2013 with the popularization of Vine. It boomed with the inventions of Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and TikTok. The goal of CMS was to bring the massively popular Chinese vertical drama industry to Western audiences.
I can respect the innovation, but I’ll never get over the idea of paying real human people money to unlock two-minute clips of TV shows that pretend not to be movies.
CMS began designing the ReelShort app in 2021, and ReelShort launched in 2022. Jia noted in a Time Magazine interview that he got inspiration from influencers who produced short stories and TV shows on social media platforms like Douyin and TikTok. His market research only sweetened the idea when he found that Chinese streaming service iQIYI prioritizes investments into 10-minute videos that are half the cost of Netflix productions. The founder applied IP monetization efforts during the pandemic, the most serendipitous time to produce or release a short-form video content app.
The unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic forced many people to stay home between 2020 and 2021, resulting in a boost for short-form video content. The unforeseen increases in screen time left millions of people with shorter attention spans and a phone addiction after the pandemic. Companies like CMS recognized society’s collective brain rot and raised us, ReelShort. An app with all the cheesy soap opera drama, the rapid-fire nature of TikTok content, and a payment system of sports betting apps (which are a problem).
CMS production practices
Their breakthrough came in 2023 with “Fated to My Forbidden Alpha.” They were number 1 on the US iOS Entertainment chart, which brought them a nice chunk of change from investors. That money funded the construction of production pods in Sunnyvale and Culver City. The Real Reel article claims that the production company shoots 70 - 90 script pages in five days. For reference, the industry standard for half-hour sitcoms is between 22 and 40 pages, while hour-long dramas are between 45 and 70 pages. Scripts for feature films are typically 90 - 120 pages long, give or take.
The number of pages does correspond with the running time of the final product. Which means CMS is aware that they're asking their crew and non-union actors to film a movie every week. That's a lot of material to learn and shoot in five days. The company has no problem with the expedient process because of its standing sets, which are permanent or semi-permanent sets, that keep production costs low. In the same Time Magazine interview, Jia revealed that ReelShort spends less than 300K on productions. However, Real Reel estimated that CMS spends an average of 250K on projects.
That estimation for production costs is ludicrous, considering ReelShort was on track to release 120 shows in 2024, according to Business Insider. While there is no cap or industry standard on how many original TV shows a streaming service can release, 250K is a troublesome budget. Analysts estimate that Netflix releases 500 original shows per year, but the projected investment costs for 2025 are $18 billion.
If my math is correct (250,000 x 120), then ReelShort spends $30 million on projects per year. That’s a drop in the bucket when ReelShort is allegedly making $33 million per month. To put this in perspective, in the US, one episode of television can cost between $3 million - $9 million. That number is dependent on location and runtime of the episodes, with half-hour episodes being less expensive to make. On average, seasons of scripted television, which is what CMS does, cost $40 million to $150 million.
Even reality TV productions spend more per episode. If you haven’t, I suggest you skim through a report written by the Writers Guild of America East. They wrote an informative article called “The Real Cost of Reality TV.” In the report, they disclose that non-fiction programs spend between $100,000 - $425,000 per episode. That’s still cheap, but it’s more than CMS spends on a season of a show.
Actors and crews beware
It makes me question what the crew and actors are paid and their workplace treatment. CMS is known for hiring freelancers, non-union workers, and contract agents (just look at their LinkedIn). This is probably a deliberate choice to reduce spending by evading required union benefits such as healthcare, pensions, and residuals.
To ensure fair compensation, union actors and crew members have a scale that dictates their contracted day rate (minimum salary). You can find more information on Wrapbook and SAG's website, but a SAG actor's day rate is $1,250, and a week-long player costs $4,400. A director of photography on a theatrical production is guaranteed $1,000 for a day's work or $4,500 for a week's work, though the rate for crew members varies by position.
The Showbiz labor guide is a great resource for aspiring crew members.
Non-union actors and crew members don't have the privilege of fair pay or working conditions. TV/Movie productions can treat them like workhorses, offering long workdays for little pay and no benefits. One Redditor asked if ReelShort was legit, questioning their pay and working conditions. Respondents had a lot to say on the subject. Many of the same grievances, such as low pay, unprofessionalism, and unrealistic expectations, were mentioned.
"I have two friends who work for them as editors. It’s all easy to farm vertical stuff with a fast paced/unrealistic time line that drives people away."
“Very bad treatment and unrealistic timelines that tend to drive people away and most of it is contract work which is why they have consistent turnover.”
"(…) say one thing and expect another, unrealistic timelines and low pay. be ready for a complete lack of basic film terminology (…). At least the notes lately have been in english instead of needing to translate chinese."
"Some nice people, kind of funny (…) Many of the locations we hired asked us several times to swear we were not from Crazy Maple Studio or ReelShorts... Honestly was fun but don't regret asking them to please not credit me by my real name."
Let me be crystal clear: I'm not accusing CMS of anything, nor am I attempting to demonize non-union productions. Non-union productions can foster both respectful and safe working environments, just as union productions can make toxic workplace environments. I'm laying out the facts and testimonials from former CMS employees who lack the same security as union workers. With so many red flags, it’s hard not to be suspicious of CMS. I hope CMS is paying their actors fairly if that monthly $33 million figure is correct.
I didn’t touch on the ReelShort app because I have a lot to say about the app and its content. If you want to learn about their shows, subscriptions, and user experience, then please check out my review.