Women aged 35 and over are emerging as the core audience for microdrama content on YouTube, according to new research from Digital i, while male viewers across all age groups are significantly under-indexing.
The findings were presented by media consultant Beatrice Rossmanith at Series Mania Forum in Lille, drawing on analysis of audience behaviour across 2025.
Digital i examined viewing data from official YouTube channels of leading microdrama apps including DramaBox, ReelShort, FlickReels, My Drama and CandyJar.
The study covered 20 markets across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, including the US, UK, Japan and Australia.
According to the report, female viewers consistently spent a higher proportion of their YouTube time watching microdrama content compared with their overall platform usage.
Women aged 35-44 accounted for 11.5% of all YouTube streams across the measured markets but represented 20.8% of streams to the selected microdrama channels.
Engagement was even more pronounced among women aged 45-54, who delivered 15.7% of microdrama channel streams despite accounting for just 7.7% of total YouTube viewing – more than double the average engagement level.
By contrast, male audiences under-indexed across all age groups. Among 18-24-year-old men, who made up 13.7% of overall YouTube streaming activity in 2025, only 6.0% of viewing was directed toward the microdrama channels analysed.
The research also indicates that microdrama viewers are heavier overall users of YouTube. While the average user watched 10.9 standard videos and 14.7 Shorts per day in 2025, viewers of the five microdrama channels consumed 13.8 standard videos and 21.5 Shorts daily.
“Our latest research provides a major insight into how specific demographics are migrating toward ultra-short-form scripted content,” said Digital i analyst Sam Vahdati (pictured). “The fact that women over 35 are not only heavily over-engaging with microdrama channels but that viewers of these channels are also significantly more active across the entire YouTube platform demonstrates the power of this content as an overall engagement driver. Understanding these high-engagement viewers is essential for navigating an increasingly fragmented global market.”
