JLA Play Signs DramaBox Deal for About 30 Vertical Microdramas

JLA Play, the streaming service of JLA Groupe, announced on 27 October 2026 that it has signed a partnership with DramaBox, the vertical microdrama platform. Under the deal, JLA Play will add about 30 DramaBox programmes, mostly series and romantic comedies, which Puremédias describes as its first content acquisition from DramaBox.

The deal follows the launch of JLA Play in early October with about 50 programmes. JLA Groupe says it wants the service to become the leading independent French player in vertical fiction. The company also says the partnership will help JLA Play grow with an offer aimed at a global audience.

What the DramaBox Titles Add to JLA Play

Puremédias, citing a press release dated 27 October, says the programmes will be integrated into JLA Play’s catalogue. The titles come from DramaBox’s existing catalogue, and the deal is described as a content acquisition, the first JLA Play has made from DramaBox.

Jean-Luc Azoulay, president of JLA Groupe, is quoted as saying the partnership will help the platform accelerate its growth with a varied offer aimed at a global audience. Puremédias also reports that Azoulay told AFP the group chose to focus on the format because he expects it to be hugely popular worldwide.

The launch catalogue includes the continuation of Les Mystères de l’amour, which ended on TMC, and Elsa in L.A., a new short format starring Elsa Esnoult. Satellifacts had headlined the app’s creation on 11 September 2026 with unreleased episodes of Les Mystères de l’amour and vertical series, before the October launch.

According to Puremédias, the service launched with about 50 programmes that mix cult series with original creations. The DramaBox titles are added to that line-up.

DramaBox in Numbers
Wikipedia reports 90 million DramaBox users by August 2025, citing Caixin.

How JLA Play Prices Vertical Episodes

TV Direct’s report of 10 October, which covered the launch, describes a freemium model. The app is free to download, part of the catalogue is free once an account is created, and locked episodes can be accessed with points or subscriptions. New accounts receive 100 points, plus 50 more if notifications are turned on, for up to 150 points without a purchase.

The subscription options listed on 10 October were a weekly discovery plan at €3.99 with 700 points, a weekly premium plan at €6.99, a monthly premium plan at €19.99 and an annual plan at €139.99, or about €11.67 a month. The monthly premium plan was listed at €29.99 at launch and has since been reduced by €10 to €19.99.

The weekly discovery plan comes with 700 points, according to TV Direct.

TV Direct, citing other press, gives 8 October as the date the App Store version arrived, after the Google Play release in early October. Puremédias says the app is already available on Android and iOS, on a subscription or on-demand basis.

How DramaBox Built Its Catalogue and Audience

DramaBox launched in April 2023. Wikipedia describes its owner, StoryMatrix Pte. Ltd., as a Singapore-based subsidiary of Beijing-based Dianzhong Technology, and says the app was developed by Dianzhong Technology. Puremédias describes DramaBox as an international vertical-series specialist founded in 2023.

Early on, DramaBox bought the rights to Chinese short dramas and translated them for international audiences. It later also produced original short dramas, according to Wikipedia. Puremédias says the platform uses a freemium model in which first episodes are free and viewers then pay per episode or subscribe.

Wikipedia cites Caixin for 90 million users by August 2025, and The Washington Post for an average of 44 million monthly active users during the first half of 2025. It also cites Gazeta Wyborcza for more than 150 million combined users across DramaBox and four other microdrama apps as of May 2025. That 150 million figure is a combined total, not a DramaBox-only number.

Puremédias reports DramaBox’s own claims of more than 480 million downloads and more than 6,000 titles in 16 languages.

Wikipedia gives DramaBox’s 2024 revenue as $323 million, mainly from in-app purchases and subscriptions. It cites a Deadline Hollywood article on China’s microdrama market for that figure.

Pricing and Budgets in the Wider Microdrama Market

Microdrama episodes run one to two minutes, and series may include 20 to 100 episodes, according to Wikipedia. Episodes are shot in the 9:16 vertical format for full-screen smartphone viewing, and in some cases the total runtime is comparable to that of one or two feature films. Wikipedia says that between 2020 and 2022 the format became more professional, with standardized 9:16 vertical shooting.

On in-app purchase platforms, individual episodes typically cost $0.30 to $0.50 and full series $10 to $15, according to Wikipedia, which cites Real Reel. Wikipedia describes the hybrid model, which mixes free episodes, paywalls, rewarded advertising and optional subscription tiers, as the most prevalent worldwide.

Wikipedia says that in Western markets such as the United States, productions typically cost between $150,000 and $250,000 for a 7–10 day shoot producing 50 to 70 or more episodes, with cast and locations representing the two largest cost categories.

Wikipedia says The Divorced Billionaire Heiress was produced for less than $200,000 and reportedly grossed about $35 million in North America.

This agreement will allow JLA Play to accelerate its growth with a rich and varied offer of new series aimed at a global audience.

Where Vertical Fiction Is Growing

Puremédias says vertical micro-dramas originated in China and are growing in Asia, Latin America and the United States, and are gaining ground in France.

Wikipedia says that in the first quarter of 2025, locally produced titles made up 80 percent of the top 20 international vertical drama titles by revenue. That figure covers only the top 20 titles.

Satellifacts lists related items on its JLA Play page, including a 28 October 2025 report that JLA Groupe opened a Los Angeles office, and a 7 September 2026 report on the launch of the Sweetz app by Nation/Kovalee.

How the JLA Play Deal Fits Current Pricing Models

The deal adds about 30 DramaBox programmes to a service that launched in early October with about 50.

JLA Play’s structure, with part of the catalogue free and locked episodes accessible with points, weekly and monthly plans, and an annual plan, resembles the hybrid model described for the wider market, which mixes free episodes, paywalls, rewarded ads and optional subscriptions.

The subscription prices cited here were listed on 10 October.