TikTok Minis: a project to integrate Duanju into the app

TikTok is adding a new entry point to Duanju: Minis, an integrated section that groups together mini-programs, including 9:16 "mini dramas" for binge-watching. The goal is to allow audiences to discover, watch, and pay without the usual hurdles of downloading a dedicated app, creating a new account, or making off-platform payments.

An important point for Western audiences: at this stage, this isn't a new app to install, but rather an internal TikTok feature. According to Business Insider, TikTok added this section discreetly, with a gradual rollout. In practice, this means that access may not be visible to all accounts simultaneously, depending on the market and TikTok's activation process. When Minis is available, the user opens TikTok as usual and accesses a Minis section that aggregates both mini-games and more than a dozen mini-drama apps, without leaving the app.

In Minis, TikTok highlights integrated mini-programs that host experiences and content directly within the app, with a subset dedicated to micro-dramas. Specifically, the user watches a series of very short, serialized episodes, built on the same mechanics as micro-drama apps: romance, betrayal, fantasy, and cliffhangers at short intervals.

This integration addresses a well-known conversion problem: a significant portion of the audience discovers micro-dramas on social media, but monetization primarily occurs in separate apps, creating friction precisely when interest is highest. TikTok explicitly aims to reduce this friction by keeping viewers within their trusted environment and offering a more seamless viewing and payment experience.

A model that wants to keep payment inside

The clearest economic signal is the price incentive: in Minis, some offers display around a 10% discount when the user pays through TikTok, rather than switching to the external app. According to producers interviewed, TikTok is also testing licensing schemes worth up to $10,000 per series, coupled with advertising revenue sharing for episodes released for free on the platform.

Underlying this is the platform's balancing act between two objectives: capturing the value of the payment and capturing the time spent watching. The first extends the "everything in TikTok" approach already established by TikTok Shop. The second increases advertising inventory and retention. For studios and producers of micro-dramas, the offer is ambivalent: potentially massive exposure and a reduced acquisition cost, but a risk of cannibalizing direct monetization if the compensation (license + ad sharing) doesn't offset production budgets that often range from $100,000 to $300,000 for a full-length vertical film.

The move also reflects a strategy of importing a model: ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, has already proven successful in China with micro-dramas consumed natively within the Douyin ecosystem. TikTok is now attempting to offer a similar model in Western markets with Minis, keeping the user within the app during the crucial viewing and payment stages. The goal is to capture a share of the micro-drama market outside China, estimated at around $3 billion annually, in a context where platforms are seeking to control discovery, viewing, and transactions.

Source :

Business Insider, December 26, 2025