Micro-dramas playing out on the endless scroll of social video platforms across Asia. A group of Hollywood veterans are diving in to bring this form of content U.S. audiences.
Chris McGurk, chairman and CEO of Cineverse, and Lloyd Braun‘s Banyan Ventures have teamed to launch MicroCo. Jana Winograde, former Showtime president and former head of ABC’s business operations, will serve as CEO of MicroCo. Susan Rovner, former president of Warner Bros. TV and former head of programmig for NBCUniversal TV and Streaming, will sign on in October as chief content officer. Erick Opeka, chief strategy officer for Cineverse, will also work closely with the MicroCo team.
“MicroCo will combine a new style of storytelling that engages fans and creators alike, with state-of-the-art technology that we have spent years developing, and an elite leadership team that includes some of our generation’s most successful media and content executives,” McGurk said. “The end result will be 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 monetization opportunities, to integrate brand partnerships, and support a robust creator economy flywheel.”
The plan is to use Cineverse’s streaming platforms and its content library to launch MicroCo’s slate of series that will feature episodes running 1 to 2 minutes in length. The micro series trend emerged a few years ago in Korea, China and other influential territories.
“The average person scrolls through hundreds of feet of content a day, but almost none of it is built to last,” said Braun, whose long career as a producer and executive includes stints as chairman of WME and ABC Entertainment Group. “We’re merging the storytelling rigor of series television with the pace, energy, and intimacy of short-form—creating addictive, emotionally rich, quality series that are developed specifically for this format and speak directly to how people consume content now.”
The partners hope to release their first shows by the first quarter of next year. Given the ultra low budgets for this content venture, it’s unlikely that MicroCo will employ Hollywood union talent.
“As viewing habits shift towards fast, social, and mobile-first experiences, our Microseries will deliver high-impact storytelling meant to be shared,” said Winograde. “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.”
Cineverse operates numerous FAST channels and it serves up streaming content via the Cineverse platform. McGurk, who previously headed Universal Pictures and MGM, emphasized that Cineverse is deeply invested in the engineering and the tech needed to get MicroCo productions off the ground. Cineverse is home to more than 71,000 titles including movies, TV shows and podcasts. The company made a mark last year with its release of the horror pic “Terrifier 3,” which scored at the box office with a modest $1 million marketing budget that McGurk emphasized reflects the company’s technology-guided approach to digital ballyhoo.
“While the need for great stories never changes, viewing habits do, and microdramas have proven that short-form storytelling can attract and engage an audience,” said Rovner. “But what’s been missing is the quality, creative passion and fun that our team will bring to this format.”
Opeka stressed that MicroCo has the chance to secure the all-important first-mover advantage for this format in the U.S.
“By bringing Hollywood best practices to a global format that’s taken off in Asia — but hasn’t been cracked in the U.S. — we believe MicroCo is uniquely positioned to lead this space,” said Opeka. “The tech, the talent, the timing — it all lines up.”
(Pictured: Chris McGurk and Jana Winograde)
