How ReelShort turned ad-supported viewing into a growth engine
About
Reelshort
ReelShort is a global short-drama platform built for mobile, with vertical episodes and cliffhangers that keep viewers coming back. Its breakout series The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband has attracted approximately 450 million views worldwide, demonstrating the global reach of the format. {[data-attribute="init-tooltip"][tooltip-content="<p>Source:<br><br><a href="https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/micro-dramas-noah-fearnley-yaxing-lin" target="_blank">Television Academy</a>, “Why Micro Dramas Are Big Business,” reporting approximately 450 million worldwide views since The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband premiered on ReelShort in 2024; accessed August 27, 2026.</p>"]}
That engagement supports two revenue paths: viewers can pay to unlock the next episode or watch an ad to continue. As ReelShort scaled, it saw an opportunity to bring more of its ad-supported viewer value into acquisition, and partnered with Moloco to make it possible.
Challenges
The growth opportunity extended beyond paid unlocks
As ReelShort grew, it wanted its acquisition strategy to recognize the value of every viewer, not only those who paid. Viewers choosing the ad-supported path could continue watching, return for more episodes, and generate in-app advertising revenue over time. An IAP-only view could underrepresent that contribution.
Solution
ReelShort and Moloco connected viewer value to acquisition
ReelShort brought a deep understanding of how paying and ad-supported viewers engaged with its stories. Moloco connected the advertising revenue generated after install to the signals used for acquisition. With Moloco Dual ROAS evaluating IAP and IAA revenue together, ReelShort could optimize toward a more complete view of viewer value, while recognizing that different viewers created value in different ways.
Results
Better visibility gave ReelShort confidence to scale
The results validated a new way to scale. Dual ROAS expanded from 1.5% to 40% of ReelShort’s UA spend, while weekly budget increased 2.35×. More importantly, the team gained a growth strategy that better reflected how viewers engaged with ReelShort and the value they created.
“For us, Moloco is more than an ad platform. They’ve become a growth partner.”
— Vera Liu, Head of UA, ReelShort
More Stories
How CrazyLabs unified UA and monetization to double ROAS and scale ad spend by 50%+
By feeding SDK monetization signals back into its UA campaigns, CrazyLabs more than doubled UA ROAS and grew daily ad spend roughly 50% in two months.
