{"id":9355,"date":"2026-04-28T06:21:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paknews.centers.pk\/ai-and-the-vertical-drama-industry\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T06:21:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:21:19","slug":"ai-and-the-vertical-drama-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paknews.centers.pk\/ur\/ai-and-the-vertical-drama-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"AI and the Vertical Drama Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div wp_automatic_readability=\"82.757759412305\">\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"mhKAKAXKqr8\"><iframe title=\"AI and the Vertical Drama Industry\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mhKAKAXKqr8?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/thomwoodley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hudson Vertical\u2019s Thom Woodley\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hudson Vertical\u2019s Thom Woodley<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> affirms that AI does indeed have a role to play in the evolution and expansion of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.streamingmedia.com\/Articles\/News\/Online-Video-News\/Vertical-Leap-Growing-the-Free-Vertical-Drama-Business-at-Streaming-Media-Connect-173716.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"vertical drama industry\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vertical drama industry<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, given the data-driven nature of the business and its roots in gaming and interactive fiction, along with its inherent \u201cwhat you want to watch when you\u2019re drunk at 2 a.m.\u201d nature that makes the prominence and potential future predominance of AI on the creative side and how long vertical drama producers will still be telling human-centric stories an open question. Woodley ponders these issues and more in this lively exchange with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chrispfaff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Chris Pfaff Tech Media\u2019s Chris Pfaff\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chris Pfaff Tech Media\u2019s Chris Pfaff<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.streamingmedia.com\/Articles\/News\/Online-Video-News\/ICYMI-Streaming-Media-Connect-February-2026-173683.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.streamingmedia.com\/Articles\/News\/Online-Video-News\/ICYMI-Streaming-Media-Connect-February-2026-173683.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Streaming Media Connect 2026<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Function of Microdramas\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pfaff opens the conversation by asking Woodley how he sees AI playing into both <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hudsonvertical.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hudson Vertical\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hudson Vertical<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s work and \u201cthe industry writ large.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Woodley notes that he founded that company in the fall and \u201cimmediately ended up getting placed working directly with an app. So I don\u2019t want to speak on behalf of any particular app.\u201d But he does say that, as a fellow panelist mentioned, AI is being used for testing and piloting, which makes sense for those data-centric corners of the industry. \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dougshapiro.media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Doug Shapiro\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doug Shapiro<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> writes about this, right? About how we the producers overestimate the level of production quality and even story quality that people need to see. There\u2019s also this great <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/feb\/18\/vertical-drama-phone-films-to-watch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"guardian vertical drama\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guardian<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that compared microdramas to the content being the kind of stuff that you want to watch when you\u2019re drunk at 2:00 a.m.,\u201d Woodley says. He\u2019s not looking for something the caliber of The Criterion Channel in that situation, he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Woodley says the initial run of verticals was focused on mobile gaming, not necessarily storytelling. \u201cWhat do we put in front of people that will make them buy digital tokens? That is the business. So from that perspective\u2014from a bean-counting perspective\u2014it doesn\u2019t really matter to them if it\u2019s live production or if it\u2019s AI,\u201d he believes. \u201cI think we\u2019re still in the audience backlash phase of AI, but the minute that we cross that hump, as much as I hate to say it, I fear that quite a lot of the attention will shift to purely AI.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Taking Cues From the Audience\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anecdotally, when providing feedback, superfans of the genre point to the actors as the primary reason for tuning in, Woodley says. \u201cAnd I think that is part of the fact that this is a soap opera genre primarily, and that\u2019s always driven soap operas. Will they say the same thing about sci-fi and things like that? Maybe not.\u201d He sees AI working for romantasy, fantasy, and sci-fi, \u201cor even straight-up animation a year before it really crosses the line with human-centric stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI would agree, certainly, with animation, but I think it certainly depends on the genre or even the micro-genre,\u201d Pfaff replies. \u201cThe way I see AI playing into this is really looking at where you get a mix, what you can use for your creative as much as for throwing things out to the audience. I would think that we\u2019re in such a rapid period of innovation and churn at the same time, but one of the things that\u2019s so fascinating about vertical is just the addiction, the loyalty, the grasp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.streamingmedia.com\/Conferences\/Connect2026-May\/Default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Join us May 12\u201314, 2026 for more thought leadership, actionable insights, and lively debate at Streaming Media Connect 2026! Registration is open!\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join us May 12\u201314, 2026 for more thought leadership, actionable insights, and lively debate at Streaming Media Connect 2026! Registration is open!<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"cta_magazine_subscription_wrap\">\n<div class=\"cta_magazine_subscription\">\n<div class=\"cta_magazine_subscription_img\">\n<!--            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dzceab466r34n.cloudfront.net\/Images\/SiteImages\/168775-2025-Cover-Images---April-2025-ORG.png\" alt=\"Streaming Covers\">--><br \/>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dzceab466r34n.cloudfront.net\/Images\/SiteImages\/457665-2026-Cover-Images-ORG.png\" alt=\"Streaming Covers\"\/>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"https:\/\/disqus.com\/?ref_noscript\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n            Related Articles&#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;\n        <\/p>\n<section class=\"article_grid\" wp_automatic_readability=\"43.704866562009\">&#13;<br \/>\n    &#13;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article_grid_single\" wp_automatic_readability=\"40.301255230126\">\n<div>\n                <a id=\"MainContentPlaceHolder_ctl01_ctl00_rptArticles_lnkImageLink_0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.streamingmedia.com\/Articles\/Editorial\/Short-Cuts\/How-to-Monetize-Vertical-Microdrama-in-the-US-174151.aspx?utm_source=related_articles&amp;utm_medium=gutenberg&amp;utm_campaign=editors_selection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dzceab466r34n.cloudfront.net\/Images\/ArticleImages\/457884-vertical-microdrama-ORG.png\"\/><\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<h3>&#13;<br \/>\n                <a id=\"MainContentPlaceHolder_ctl01_ctl00_rptArticles_lnkArticleTitle_0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.streamingmedia.com\/Articles\/Editorial\/Short-Cuts\/How-to-Monetize-Vertical-Microdrama-in-the-US-174151.aspx?utm_source=related_articles&amp;utm_medium=gutenberg&amp;utm_campaign=editors_selection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Monetize Vertical Microdrama in the US<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                Even as the buzz builds around vertical microdrama and more and more content, innovation, and creativity flow into this new storytelling mode, how to make it profitable remains an open question. 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