BET Gets Into the Microdrama Business

A few names long associated with old-school television are partnering to chase a very new-media trend: vertical video series.

BET, the Paramount-owned media group focused on the Black community and best known for its basic cable channel, revealed on Wednesday that it is partnering with microdrama company aTwist to develop and distribute these series, also known as verticals, across both linear and digital platforms. Formerly called MicroCo, aTwist was founded by former WME and ABC Entertainment head Lloyd Braun, ex-Showtime president Jana Winograde, and former NBCUniversal Television and Streaming entertainment chairwoman Susan Rovner.

The deal essentially provides a declining cable asset with low-cost programming while offering aTwist projects greater visibility and an additional revenue window. Through the partnership, BET and aTwist will produce series that can be viewed on cable television as well as on aTwist’s forthcoming mobile app, which is set to launch this summer. Each project will have a first-run window on the BET channel before moving to the aTwist app.

“BET is planting our stake in the ground for the next era of storytelling,” BET Studios evp and head of creative Aisha Summers-Burke said in a statement. “The microseries format represents one of the most significant shifts in how content is created, distributed, and consumed, and we’re positioning BET at the forefront of that evolution.”

In a microdrama landscape crowded with new entrants, all eager to prove the format can succeed in the U.S., aTwist is aiming to produce verticals across multiple genres (extending beyond romance and including anime, true crime, thrillers, horror and comedy) that are higher-quality than the average soapy offering from other companies in the low-rent space.

“What you’ll see from us is a very different approach to how we think about the business as not just a cash grab, but a long-term core piece of the media pie for billions of consumers,” Erick Opeka, the chief strategy officer and president of Cineverse, which has a 50 percent stake in the company, told The Hollywood Reporter last year.

With the BET deal, aTwist is also clearly betting that the format will resonate with the Black community, which the companies’ joint press release asserts has been underserved by microdramas. “BET is a true cultural cornerstone, with one of the most loyal and engaged audiences in media, and we feel incredibly fortunate to partner with a brand that has consistently championed authentic storytelling,” said Winograde, Rovner and Braun in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be reunited with Aisha and the entire BET team.”