This Month's Case Studies: DramaWave, Kuku TV, FlickReels
Insightrackr has released the December 2025 Global Short Drama App Download and Revenue Rankings based on its monitoring data of the global mobile market.
These rankings are derived from Insightrackr's proprietary estimates of app download volume and gross revenue, listing the Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Downloads and the Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Revenue. This report further deconstructs the user acquisition and ad creative strategies of selected standout apps from the past month.
Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Downloads
DramaBox made a strong comeback in December, reclaiming the No. 1 position with nearly 30% MoM growth in downloads.
By contrast, DramaReels—ranked No. 1 in the previous period and published by Kunlun Tech—experienced a modest ~5% MoM decline in December. Its ranking slipped to No. 3, though overall download volume remained at a relatively high level.
Another Kunlun Tech title, DramaWave, delivered particularly standout performance in December, with downloads surging by over 90% MoM, making it the fastest-growing app within the Top 15.
DramaWave updated its app icon in December to incorporate strong Christmas-themed elements. This detail suggests a deliberate alignment between seasonal marketing, user acquisition efforts, and media buying cadence around key calendar moments.
In contrast, the most pronounced MoM decline in downloads was observed for Kuku TV, developed by Indian publisher Mebigo Labs.
Insightrackr previously analyzed this product in the June Global Short Drama Rankings (Click to Read). Leveraging a large reserve of local IP and deep understanding of Indian languages, culture, and user preferences, Kuku TV had enjoyed sustained popularity in its domestic market.
However, in December, its downloads fell by approximately 30% MoM, with its ranking dropping to No. 6—indicating a short-term weakening in UA momentum.
Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Revenues
Compared with the download rankings, the revenue leaderboard remained relatively stable in December.
Within the Top 10, most ranking changes were limited to shifts of no more than one position, reflecting a relatively mature monetization structure among leading short drama apps and an increasingly stable competitive landscape.
In terms of absolute revenue scale, total revenue across the Top 15 showed a MoM growth trend, with FlickReels being the only app to register a decline, down approximately 11% MoM.
More pronounced volatility was observed among the bottom five apps.
QuickTV, an Indian short drama app ranked No. 15, recorded an estimated 133.91% MoM revenue increase in December. After several consecutive months of decline, it returned to the Top 15 for the first time in three months.
Notably, while Kuku TV experienced a sharp drop in downloads, its revenue rose by over 80% MoM. This divergence—declining downloads alongside rising revenue—suggests that after more than half a year of peak download volumes, the app’s user base in the Indian market is approaching saturation. In response, the publisher appears to be shifting strategic focus from scale expansion toward improving monetization efficiency.
Top Short Drama App UA Strategy Analysis
01 DramaWave
As a key component within Kunlun Tech’s short drama portfolio, DramaWave has long trailed the free, IAA-based DramaReels in download scale. However, its overall revenue performance remains highly competitive. Correspondingly, the publisher has consistently maintained a high level of advertising for this product.
According to Insightrackr, from early to mid-December, DramaWave maintained approximately 3,000 active ad creatives per day. Entering the latter half of December, this figure declined to around 1,500, indicating a phased adjustment to either media buying rhythm or budget allocation.
At the channel level, Facebook remains DramaWave’s dominant UA platform. At the same time, the app supplements traffic via platforms such as Opera and AdMob. These placements span a diverse range of sub-channel app categories—including utilities, fiction, and casual games—highlighting an ongoing expansion strategy beyond core traffic pools.
From a geographic perspective, the United States is DramaWave’s most critical target market, accounting for 7.01% of its ad creative distribution, significantly higher than Germany (3.78%) and the UK (3.33%).
This structure indicates a dual strategy: targeted, focused investment in the U.S., combined with broad-based distribution across other regions.
In terms of download contribution, India and Indonesia together account for over 20.5% of total downloads, followed by Latin American markets led by Brazil.
On the revenue side, Indonesia emerges as the largest contributor.
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On the ad creative front, DramaWave promotes both translated Chinese dramas and locally produced global content. One of its key titles in December, 校花真千金霸气归来(True Heiress Strikes Back), was localized into multiple languages and adapted into video ad creatives.
Insightrackr identified versions including the Indonesian Pewaris Asli Kembali untuk Balas Dendam, the English and Traditional Chinese variants.
In addition, DramaWave clearly incorporated AI-generated video segments as front-loaded hooks within its ad videos, blending them with in-app footage and voiceover narration. This approach emphasizes core selling points such as content volume, high-definition visuals, and overall production quality.
02 Kuku TV
Insightrackr’s ad monitoring data indicates that Kuku TV underwent multiple rounds of noticeable advertising strategy adjustments in December.
Prior to December, the app consistently maintained over 6,000 active ad creatives per day. After entering December, this number dropped sharply to around 3,500 within one week, then gradually recovered to above 4,000. However, in mid-December, the volume declined again, briefly falling below 2,000.
Notably, in the lead-up to Christmas, Kuku TV’s ad creative volume rebounded rapidly to over 4,000, continuing upward toward 5,000, signaling a renewed push during a key seasonal window.
Although Hinduism is the predominant religion in India, Christmas is still a public holiday, offering meaningful marketing opportunities.
From a media channel perspective, in addition to Facebook, AdMob serves as Kuku TV’s primary supplementary traffic source. Its sub-sources are predominantly casual game apps, aligning well with typical usage scenarios among Indian users.
Geographically, India remains Kuku TV’s absolute core market, contributing over 90% of both downloads and revenue. Markets with sizable Indian populations—such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE—also provide smaller but notable contributions.
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Drawing on Insightrackr’s prior analysis, Mebigo Labs also operates Kuku FM and has built a large-scale creator ecosystem and IP library. As a result, Kuku TV’s ad creatives are heavily focused on locally produced Indian dramas.
These productions demonstrate relatively high standards across costume design, cinematography, and overall production quality.
Beyond showcasing direct drama clips, some ad creatives incorporate simulated live-stream interfaces, complete with scrolling user comments and emojis at the bottom of the screen. This design creates a strong sense of simultaneous viewing, effectively leveraging social proof and encouraging user participation.
03 FlickReels
According to Insightrackr data, FlickReels maintained approximately 200 active ad creatives per day throughout December. This represents a decline from nearly 300 in mid-November, though a modest rebound was observed around the Christmas period.
In terms of channel mix, FlickReels primarily relies on Facebook and AdMob for user acquisition. Its supplementary placements span a wide range of app categories, including games, utilities, and fiction, resulting in a relatively diversified media structure.
From a geographic targeting perspective, FlickReels has not formed a highly concentrated core market. Even the United States—its largest market by ad creative share—accounts for only 4.41%, indicating a strategy oriented toward broad coverage across major global markets.
In outcome terms, downloads are mainly driven by large-population, lower-cost markets such as Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico.
Revenue, however, is concentrated in higher-ARPU markets, with the United States, Japan , and Thailand together contributing nearly 50% of total revenue.
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From an ad creative content perspective, FlickReels invested heavily in promoting two modern urban romance dramas in December.
One is the Chinese-origin series 总裁夫人来自农村 2(The CEO’s Wife is from the Countryside 2), localized in Spanish as De Campesina a La Élite. The other is 偏偏偏爱你(Contract Husband, Beloved Sweetheart), primarily promoted in Portuguese under the title Te Amo Sem Razão.
Overall, FlickReels appears to have strategically leaned into emotionally driven, urban romance narratives during December.
This concludes the analysis of December 2025 global short drama app downloads, revenue, and advertising activities.
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