A+E Global Media and Lifetime are expanding their vertical content offering with new original microdramas and library adaptations, alongside an international licensing slate launching at MIPCOM.
The initial offering comprises three Lifetime originals from Microhouse Films and seven films adapted from A+E’s library. Titles are available through a revamped MyLifetime.com experience, with the Lifetime mobile app serving as the primary viewing destination.
New vertical titles will launch every two weeks. Lifetime plans to offer up to seven originals by the end of 2026, including two sponsored holiday titles from vertTV.
A+E has also adapted nearly 200 library titles into short, chapter-based vertical formats for licensing to international partners, with sales beginning at MIPCOM next week. The wider third-party distribution offering includes Lifetime movies and adaptations of factual and unscripted programmes such as Cold Case Files, I Survived, Alone, Ice Road Truckers, Forged in Fire, History’s Greatest Mysteries, Hoarders and Married at First Sight.
“By adapting 200 titles into premium microdrama formats, we are extending the reach and value of proven IP while creating new opportunities for mobile-first audiences, platforms and distribution partners,” said Brian Weiss, executive vice president, strategy, A+E Global Media.
The three Microhouse originals available at launch are Tides of Temptation, Matched With a Murderer (pictured) and His Lies Taste Like Love.
Executive produced by Taye Diggs, Autumn Federici and Shelby Stone, Tides of Temptation is a digital companion to the upcoming Lifetime movie Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You, which premieres on November 7. The projects share a story world, although the vertical drama is a standalone story.
Further Microhouse titles scheduled for later this year include Reunion Island and Recklessly in Love with My Daughter’s Best Man. Reunion Island will also premiere at the inaugural ALZA Festival, an event dedicated to microdrama and vertical storytelling taking place in New York this October.
“Microdramas are one of the most dynamic and exciting areas of growth in entertainment, and Lifetime is proud to be an early and meaningful participant in that evolution,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming, A&E, Lifetime and LMN.
She added: “Our opportunity is not simply to introduce a new format, but to define its role within the Lifetime ecosystem in a way that strengthens our brand, deepens fandom and gives audiences another way to experience the stories they already love. With original series, library titles and new brand-supported projects rolling out through the Lifetime app on mobile and MyLifetime.com, we are building a strategy that spans premium storytelling, audience engagement and global distribution.”
The seven library films adapted for the initial Lifetime launch are A Lifeguard’s Obsession, Burned by Love, Danger in the House, My Husband’s Worse Mistake, What Would You Kill For?, Secret of a Dean’s Wife and College Professor Obsession.
The holiday originals, Casting Christmas and Destination, Christmas, come from vertTV, the studio and mobile streaming platform founded by Jeffrey Schenck, Barry Barnholtz, Peter Sullivan, Brian Nolan and Ben Rosenthal.
“The expansion into vertical storytelling creates compelling new opportunities for brands to connect with audiences in highly engaging, mobile-first environments,” said Toby Byrne, president, media solutions, A+E Global Media. “Projects like these give advertisers the ability to participate in premium, culturally relevant storytelling while reaching audiences across the platforms where they are spending their time.”
A+E has been at the forefront of the industry migration towards digital-first content. Last year, A+E Networks launched a dedicated digital division.
