NetShort, a short-drama app under Maiya Culture, launched two years behind its competitors but quickly reached #2 in global downloads. As it scaled, the challenge shifted from user acquisition to monetization: how to grow ad revenue without disrupting the viewing experience. By integrating BidMachine’s in-app bidding SDK, the team doubled ad revenue from it and increased ARPU by 5%+ without impacting user engagement.

From user acquisition to revenue

NetShort launched in October 2024 and moved quickly. Within months the platform had 100+ titles, each drawing tens of millions of views, including one breakout hit that surpassed 100 million views.

By February 2026, Sensor Tower ranked NetShort #2 in global downloads among overseas short-drama apps with 16.21M downloads, behind FreeReels (46.8M) and ahead of DramaBox (14.87M) and Melako (13.54M).

The download numbers looked good but revenue numbers told a different story. According to Appfigures, in January 2026, global short-drama downloads across 248 apps hit a six-month high of around 165M, but total revenue came in at $206M and had dropped for two months straight.

For NetShort, the issue was clear: with user acquisition costs rising, maximizing revenue from every existing user became the focus.

Building a monetization layer that matched the product

NetShort users watch a lot and they watch often. Long session times were the goal, and anything that disrupts that experience works against the business.

The team was already running subscriptions and in-app purchases, and ads were the next step. They partnered with BidMachine and switched to in-app bidding, which brought more demand sources competing for each impression.

A few things made the difference:

• Real time auction competition. Instead of relying on fixed waterfall setups, demand partners competed in real time, pushing CPMs up.
• Better targeting. BidMachine's algorithms meant ads were more relevant, which improved performance for advertisers and reduced friction for users.
• A stable SDK. Reliable performance meant predictable revenue growth.
• Ads that fit the experience. Ads were integrated without affecting session depth and retention.

Results

Once BidMachine was live, the monetization picture changed:

• BidMachine ad revenue increased by more than 200%
• ARPU increased by more than 5%
• BidMachine is now one of NetShort's top monetization partners

Yu Gu, Monetization Lead, reflects on what the integration delivered:

"After integrating the BidMachine SDK, we’ve seen a solid uplift in ad revenue. BidMachine’s stable, high-quality ad demand has enabled us to maintain a great user experience while achieving outstanding monetization results. The BidMachine team’s fast and efficient support has also been a huge help."

Takeaways for other content publishers 

Many content publishers prioritize user experience to drive subscriptions and other premium conversion, but ads are a powerful way to monetize non-paying users without undermining that experience. The publishers getting this right focus on ad quality over quantity, making each placement relevant and well-timed so revenue grows alongside retention.