The Media Odyssey Podcast — Episode Summary
Episode: My Drama and the Vertical Takeover
Hosts: Evan Shapiro & Marion Ranchet
Recorded Live at Stream TV Europe, April 30, 2026
Guest: Bogdan Nesvit (Founder, Holy Water Tech & My Drama)
Episode Overview
In this engaging live episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Bogdan Nesvit, the founder of Holy Water Tech and the vertical video streaming platform My Drama, to decode the explosive rise of microdramas and vertical video in the entertainment industry. They dive into the origins and business mechanics behind My Drama, analyze the rapid evolution of short-form content, and discuss the influence of AI, data-driven content creation, and evolving monetization models. The episode balances deep industry insight with candid moments, making sense of the "vertical takeover" that's reshaping global media consumption.
Key Topics and Insights
1. The Origin Story: Holy Water and My Drama
[01:44 – 03:51]
- Bogdan describes the six-year journey from interactive books to video streaming:
- Began as an interactive stories platform for "choose-your-own-adventure" books.
- Launched My Passion—a books platform sourcing amateur writers globally.
- Transitioned top-performing stories into interactive and AI-powered video series.
- Evolved to live-action, vertical mobile films targeting U.S. audiences with the My Drama platform.
Quote:
"The logical step would be why not go full screen and actually turn this into a movie. And this is something that we are working on." —Bogdan Nesvit [03:41]
2. Microdrama’s Scale and Business Evolution
[04:24 – 09:18]
- My Drama now has close to 7 million monthly active users, primarily in the U.S.
- Current content library: ~300 microdrama titles, aiming for 1,000 by next year.
- Episodes are 1 minute each, with series running up to 90 episodes (a full movie’s length).
- Initially launched with a microtransaction "coin" system, now fully moved to subscriptions.
- Experimenting with ad-supported models to expand reach.
- Majority of users (90%+) are now subscribers; AB-testing different price points and subscription lengths.
Quote:
"Subscription has much higher retention revenue... users with subscription, they consume three times more content than users with in app purchases." —Bogdan Nesvit [09:18]
3. Content Acquisition and Customer Growth
[10:09 – 13:47]
- Dual acquisition channels: 70% via paid social marketing (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok), 30% organic.
- Core strategy inspired by Disney’s IP-centric, multi-format approach.
- My Drama runs thousands of targeted video ads and builds organic followings on hundreds of dedicated social accounts for specific shows.
- Profitability achieved despite substantial marketing spend; stresses the importance of not solely relying on paid acquisition due to rising costs.
Quote:
"If someone relies 100% on paid marketing, they will not be able to survive... paid marketing price tends to go up every year, especially once competition grows." —Bogdan Nesvit [12:45]
4. The Power of Social Clips and Data-Driven Virality
[13:47 – 16:31]
- Strategy: Release tantalizing micro-clips ending in cliffhangers on social, funneling viewers to the app ("product preview" model).
- Heavy reliance on data and AB testing to optimize content and audience segmentation.
- Tests different fan community-building approaches, including channels devoted to individual titles.
Memorable Exchange:
- Evan, comparing the teaser content marketing tactic:
"It's like selling drugs here. Take a taste and come in." —Evan Shapiro [14:25]
- Bogdan:
"I believe that drug dealers use this strategy of product review... and a lot of other companies." [14:41]
5. Vertical Drama’s Market Potential & Content Expansion
[16:31 – 19:15]
- Global vertical drama market estimated at $11–12 billion (2026), with explosive growth predicted through 2030.
- China is currently the largest market, but U.S. growth is accelerating.
- Standard microdramas recycle five core tropes—growth depends on expanding genres (detective, fantasy, sports, etc.).
Quote:
"In order to turn this into mainstream, we'll have to experiment with new things... I'm sure that we'll find a way. And the market is going to be huge." —Bogdan Nesvit [18:18]
6. AI in Content Production
[19:15 – 22:54]
- AI used for rapid translation, story development, and now video production ("My Muse").
- AI has cut production of a movie from 100 weeks to two weeks, slashing costs.
- Live-action vertical films cost $120k–$250k; AI films just a few thousand dollars.
- Relies on human scriptwriters and directors—AI can't (yet) generate compelling scripts with genuine emotion and suffering.
Quote:
"Suffering and emotions make humans a character... to create a genius, great script that is going to reach tens of hundreds of millions, you have to have some emotion... And this is what humans do the best right now." —Bogdan Nesvit [22:04]
7. Platform Strategy: Single App or Ecosystem?
[22:54 – 23:57]
- Currently maintains separate apps for books, AI films, live action ("My Passion," "My Muse," "My Drama") to better segment audiences and sell tailored subscriptions.
- Open to possibly unifying into a "super app" down the line.
8. Comparing AI and Live-action Engagement
[23:57 – 26:31]
- Retention for AI-generated and live-action episodes is similar, but live-action far outperforms on audience scale.
- AI content resonates with a narrower, though loyal, audience.
- To match live-action consumption, much higher AI content volume would be needed.
Exchange:
- Evan: "So what you're saying is the consumer basically susses out AI versus live action and... is choosing live action, choosing to watch the live action movies more?" [26:18]
- Bogdan: "Yes... more people are choosing live action right now." [26:31]
9. Partnerships: Scaling Content and Ads
[26:44 – 28:02]
- Partnership with Fox Entertainment aims to broaden genre experimentation and leverage Fox’s ad sales acumen for future ad-based monetization.
- Fox brings both talent and advertising capabilities; My Drama focuses on tech, distribution, and data.
10. Founder's Mindfulness Journey
[28:15 – 32:03]
- Bogdan shares a personal story on the importance of meditation, propelled by managing ADHD and burnout.
- He emphasizes that training focus is as crucial as physical fitness—meditation brought personal clarity and productivity.
- Advocates meditation for achieving greater happiness and focus in the digital age.
Quote:
"Most of us, we don't take care of our focus and our mind, which is much more important, I think, than the body. So meditation first of all became the tool to improve my focus... If everyone meditated for 30 minutes to 60 minutes a day, I think we would have less wars. We would be much more happy." —Bogdan Nesvit [31:14]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On adapting models to social media era:
"We are basically adapting Disney strategy to current consumption habits, current distribution, current creation." —Bogdan Nesvit [10:51]
- On data-driven culture:
"We run about 1000 AB tests per year. Even more than that." —Bogdan Nesvit [07:59]
- On becoming a data-centric media company:
"Being a great AB tester, being a test and learner is paramount. It's central to success." —Evan Shapiro [15:26]
Timestamps for Reference
- [01:44] — Holy Water & My Drama origin story
- [04:24] — User metrics, decisions to go "vertical," content scale
- [06:13] — Monetization: Microtransactions, subscriptions, ads
- [10:09] — Customer acquisition and Disney-inspired strategy
- [13:47] — Organic vs. paid user growth, viral clip strategy
- [16:31] — Market size and evolution toward new genres
- [19:15] — AI transformation in content production
- [22:04] — The irreplaceable role of human emotion in scripts
- [23:57] — Live-action vs. AI user retention and scale
- [26:44] — Partnership motives with Fox; business model adaptation
- [28:15] — Founder's story: The role of meditation and focus
Tone & Takeaway
True to Marion and Evan’s style, the episode is both richly analytical and entertaining. The dialogue demystifies the business and creative logic behind a fast-moving media phenomenon and concludes with a personal and philosophical reflection on managing focus in a hyper-distracting era.
Listeners gain both a tactical blueprint on content innovation in the age of vertical video and a grounding reminder of the human element, whether in story, business, or personal well-being.