Viu Launches Vertical Video Platform Viu Shorts

Asian streaming giant Viu has expanded its content offerings with the debut of Viu Shorts, a new vertical video section featuring bite-sized dramas in multiple Asian languages. The platform offers microdramas in Chinese, Korean, Thai and Indonesian, with episodes running one to three minutes each. The new section is integrated into Viu’s mobile app and is designed to cater to the growing demand for short-form content.

This move represents a strategic expansion for Viu, targeting users who prefer quick, on-the-go entertainment. The launch highlights the increasing popularity of microdramas across the Asian market, providing a dedicated space for this specific genre of content. By focusing on vertical video and short episode lengths, Viu Shorts aims to capture a segment of the mobile-first audience.

Viu has officially launched Viu Shorts, a dedicated section within its mobile application focused on vertical video content. This new feature is specifically designed to host microdramas, which are characterized by their extremely short episode lengths. The introduction of Viu Shorts marks a significant shift towards catering to mobile users who consume content in a vertical format.

The platform focuses on delivering content rapidly. Episodes featured on Viu Shorts are strictly timed to run between one to three minutes each. This format allows viewers to consume full story arcs during short breaks or commutes. The integration into the existing mobile app ensures that users can access this new content type without needing a separate download.

To appeal to a broad regional audience, Viu Shorts offers content in several major Asian languages. The platform is launching with a diverse library that includes microdramas in Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Indonesian. This multilingual approach allows Viu to serve distinct markets simultaneously under a unified brand feature.

The focus on these specific languages highlights Viu's commitment to the Asian entertainment landscape. By aggregating content from these linguistic regions, the platform creates a hub for Asian microdramas. This strategy likely aims to leverage the existing popularity of dramas from these countries while adapting the format to modern viewing habits.

The Viu Shorts section is not a standalone application but is fully integrated into the main Viu mobile app. This integration allows for seamless navigation between standard long-form content and the new short-form vertical videos. Users can likely switch between the two formats easily, enhancing the overall user experience on the platform.

By embedding the feature directly into the existing app infrastructure, Viu ensures immediate accessibility for its current user base. The technical implementation focuses on the mobile experience, prioritizing the vertical video player and quick-loading episodes. This approach minimizes friction for users adopting the new feature.

The launch of Viu Shorts reflects a broader industry trend towards short-form video consumption, popularized by platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. By entering this space with a focus on scripted dramas, Viu differentiates itself from user-generated content platforms. The company is betting that there is a significant audience for professionally produced, bite-sized narrative content.

This expansion could signal a shift in how traditional streaming services produce and package content. Rather than relying solely on hour-long episodes, Viu is diversifying its portfolio to include microdramas. If successful, Viu Shorts could encourage other regional streamers to adopt similar vertical video strategies to retain mobile-first viewers.