\n\tThe good news for Hollywood is that video streaming app downloads skyrocketed in 2025, as well as their revenue. The news that may give some executives who specialize in traditional storytelling pause is that the growth was primarily driven by microdrama apps.<\/p>\n
\n\tThat\u2019s according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower<\/a>\u2019s annual report on the state of mobile, which was published on Wednesday. Video streaming app downloads increased globally by nearly 39 percent last year while their revenue increased nearly 18 percent, the report authors wrote. And while short drama app downloads grew more than 100 percent year over year, traditional streaming app downloads fell by more than four percent. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIn 2025, short drama apps aggressively scaled their market presence. Driven by a rapid proliferation of localized productions, Short Drama downloads skyrocketed to 2.3 billion for the full year,\u201d the authors note. \u201cThis momentum culminated in a landmark Q4, where a 186 percent [year over year] explosion allowed the subgenre to overtake traditional OTT streaming downloads, which trailed with a 7 percent decline in the same period.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe sea change was clear in the rankings of the most downloaded apps globally, which was topped by verticals apps DramaBox and ReelShort<\/a>, followed by Netflix. Amazon Prime Video came in sixth and Disney+ tenth. (TikTok and YouTube were not included in the video streaming app category in the study, which lumped them in with social media apps.)<\/p>\n \n\tIn the U.S., traditional streaming entertainment still reigned on the charts, even as microdrama apps took prime slots. Netflix ranked first in downloads, followed by ReelShort, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Tubi. DramaBox came in sixth, just before Peacock TV and Paramount+.<\/p>\n \n\tThe issue for both short drama apps and traditional streaming apps, however, is that time spent on video streaming did not significantly increase in 2025. Streaming screentime increased 8 percent globally and only three percent in the U.S. \u201cThis suggests that short drama apps are cannibalizing the time share previously held by traditional OTT platforms and social media apps, in addition to expanding the total viewing pie,\u201d the report authors conclude.<\/p>\n