Non-TX pilot to be produced this summer

Sky is to test the waters with microdrama production, ordering a pilot to be filmed at the Isle of Wight Festival in June. 

The broadcaster already has a major presence at the festival: it is the headline sponsor and Sky Arts isthe broadcast partner. The pilot will be filmed backstage at the festival – headlined this year by Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris and The Cure – with no current plans for broadcast. 

A Sky spokesperson said: “We’re always exploring new ways to tell stories and reach audiences, including looking at emerging formats like microdramas. This is very early-stage experimentation for us.” 

Production of the pilot will be overseen by CC Lab, which produces Sky’s festival coverage. 

Consumed vertically on mobile phones, microdramas are usually made up of between 40 to 80 episodes lasting one to three minutes. 

The vertical video market is booming in China, which is responsible for two-thirds of the $26bn industry, while the European market is in the early stages of growth.  

Banijay recently revealed ambitious microdrama projects from Germany, Finland and Iberia, while BBC Studios’ new AI Lab recently revealed microdrama is a priority area. 

At Series Mania in March this year, former Channel 4 drama boss Caroline Hollick and Greenacre Films co-founder Nadine Marsh-Edwards suggested the cheaper-to-produce format could offer an accessible route into the TV industry and act as a training ground for creatives.