TelevisaUnivision Bets Its Telenovela DNA Can Win The Microdrama Race

TelevisaUnivision is moving aggressively to turn its microdrama platform into a new growth engine, betting that the melodramatic storytelling that powered decades of telenovelas can be reshaped for mobile-first audiences in one- to two-minute vertical episodes.

In under a year, the company’s Spanish-language short-form vertical video offering has racked up 900 million social media views and 6 million daily users. For Rafael Urbina, president of streaming and digital at TelevisaUnivision, the numbers show the strategy is already working both as a user-acquisition tool and as a potential revenue stream.

“I do think this has the opportunity to become a multimillion-dollar business at scale,” Urbina says.

“We certainly have a first-mover advantage today. We have our own platform… so we own this end to end. We have the production capabilities. All the way through to the app that the consumer is holding in their hands, we control. That gives us an opportunity to monetize in a different way, to integrate in a different way. And it just presents a massive business opportunity for us.”

The company highlighted that opportunity at its Upfronts last year.

Adapting Telenovelas for The TikTok Era

ViX MicrO is built around scripted vertical series, with episodes running roughly 60 to 120 seconds and designed for phones, feeds and fast binges. Each micro-series averages about 60 episodes, all dropped at once in the ViX app so viewers can watch in quick bursts or marathon sessions.

The platform had been operating quietly since July 2025 and, by the time of its official launch announcement in February, had already produced more than 80 micro-series and released more than 50 of them.

For TelevisaUnivision, whose roots are in the telenovela genre, the compressed format is an update rather than a break from its core identity.

“The storytelling is very similar to our traditional storytelling across melodramas,” Urbina says. “They may amplify some of those patterns. It may be even more melodramatic and it’s certainly faster-paced. But the essential storytelling ingredients are there.”

Discovery starts on social platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X, where trailers and the first five episodes are posted to drive viewers into the app, where the rest of the series is available for free. While ViX remains focused on its core streaming platform, Urbina says microdramas are creating a new mobile-first habit among viewers who may already know the service but have not been using its app as their primary destination.

“The micros are engaging a disproportionate amount of new users,” Urbina says. “As a result, this is an opportunity for us to engage millions of people who have discovered the VIX streaming app on mobile but are primarily using it on connected TV.”

That funnel serves a dual purpose: it meets audiences where they already spend time while pulling them deeper into the broader ViX ecosystem. According to Urbina, ViX reaches about 50 million people across its apps, including mobile and connected TV. “On social, that number is much greater,” he says. “We reach hundreds of millions of people every single month.”

Building the Machine

While Spanish-language competitor Telemundo has also moved into the microdrama space, Urbina says ViX’s edge lies in its ability to control the full stack, from production through distribution and monetization.

“We have a competitive advantage moving to this new format, in being able to produce this content at scale and cost-effectively,” Urbina says.

Backed by TelevisaUnivision’s infrastructure in Mexico, the ViX MicrO production machine is substantial. Episodes are produced in as little as five days, with more than 10 production teams running up to four series at once. More than 50 writers are developing stories for the platform, supported by over 450 on-camera talents drawn heavily from Televisa’s Centro de Educación Artística (CEA) as well as theater and other emerging talent.

Urbina sees the pipeline as a way to develop stars and stories for the broader company.

“We see a lot of potential there in identifying our next huge star across our traditional broadcast and streaming platforms by testing the grounds with this short-form content,” he says. “But it’s not only about the stars. It’s also about the stories.”

So far, TelevisaUnivision says it has produced about 80 micro-series and premiered about 50, with the platform logging 80 million minutes of viewing in its first year. Among the strongest early performers are El Regreso de la Heredera Fugitiva, Me Casé para Vengarme, Pero Me Enamoré, La Cocinera que Conquistó al Presidente and Acábame, which surpassed 4 million views in its first week alone.

The stories lean into classic melodrama territory — forbidden love, family betrayal, revenge and identity — with titles like Mi Padre Me Robó a Mi Novia, Isadora la Usurpadora and Mi Vida NO Es una Telenovela.

Monetizing the Format

Monetization today comes through in-stream ads, brand integrations, product placement and custom content. Urbina points to a branded series made for JCPenney as one example, with shoppable products built into the app experience.​ He also sees more revenue layers ahead.

“Obviously, at some point you will see some of this live either behind a subscription wall or behind some sort of a more gamified token system,” Urbina says. “And I think those are things that we’re actively experimenting with.”

ViX MicrO is also part of a broader scale play. The company plans to debut 100 original microdramas in 2026, supplemented by licensed content from other markets. Urbina says scale matters because viewers move through the format quickly and the catalog has to keep replenishing.

“Scale and availability of content is very important,” he says. “You need a very large content offering in order to engage those consumers and retain those consumers.”

A New Playbook

Urbina says ViX MicrO is built on a very different model from Quibi, the short-lived mobile venture that launched with big ambitions and collapsed within months. He ​argues Quibi failed​ because it leaned on expensive, star-driven, professionally produced horizontal video.

“Quibi, I think, from my experience with it — and I did spend some time with it — was horizontal video, professionally produced, very high production values, star power, very, very, very expensive to produce,” Urbina says.

“The premise was right,” he says. “But in how we address that market opportunity, this is completely different from what Quibi tried to do a few years ago.”

ViX MicrO, by contrast, is built on one- to two-minute episodes, cliffhangers, lean costs and relatively unknown talent.

AI as an Accelerator

Urbina also sees generative AI as a practical production tool rather than a creative threat.

“I think you can look at generative AI today as almost one more camera,” he says. “We can use it to create backgrounds.”

He says AI can also help with localization, including dubbing and translation for licensed content, while keeping the cost structure competitive.

“This is a different model than our traditional linear model,” Urbina says. “So the cost structure is very, very important. I think Gen AI is going to allow us to remain very competitive and make this very profitable for us.”