ViX MicrO: The Industrialization of Melodrama and the Value of Original IP

With a vision grounded in TelevisaUnivision’s melodramatic tradition, ViX MicrO is positioning itself in the market as a creative studio focused on 100% original intellectual property. Daniel Lares, Head of Content & Production of ViX MicrO and director of the tlnovelas channel, maintains that melodrama is a universal language that transcends platforms when adapted rigorously to digital contexts. “Young viewers don’t reject melodrama; they reject waiting. Through a pool of nearly 60 specialized writers, we build assets capable of growing into second seasons, spin-offs, or making the leap to other windows within our ecosystem,” he told PRODU.

A Un Gol del Paraíso and Tú Mi Reina, Yo Tu Chacal from ViX MicrO

He explained that there is a biased view of melodrama. “The telenovela has historically demonstrated its universal reach. Inspired by that history, we seek to build our own story with ViX MicrO in the digital space. Melodrama is a language that transcends formats and platforms; it requires adapting it to codes, contexts, audiences and ecosystems, but it has a transversal core,” he explained, before stating that the key lies in choosing what to adapt and what not to.

TELEVISAUNIVISION’S WINDOWS: THE GREAT ADVANTAGE

At the business model level, the platform offers a catalog that can move between different screens. Both in AVOD mode (free with ads) and SVOD (subscription without ads). This structure allows writers to write for organic viewer retention rather than for forced cuts driven by pay-per-episode (paywall). They write with second seasons in mind. “For us, this is a great incentive and a differentiating factor,” Lares explained.

“When you create an original, each title is an asset that can grow. It’s worth considering that TelevisaUnivision has an exceptional condition that practically no one else offers, not in Mexico, not in US Hispanic, nor in Hispanic Latin America. A writer with us must recognize that the story can transcend starting from ViX MicrO,” he explained.

BUSINESS MODEL

Daniel Lares explained that, unlike transactional apps, ViX MicrO is the first hybrid platform. “The decision on the model is built by the company as a whole, and today there is more than one path open, so it wouldn’t be me who announces it. What I can tell you is what each scenario means from the writers’ table, which is what concerns me,” he commented. He explained that a pay-per-episode model drives the design of stories centered on the cutoff point, because the hook stops serving the narrative and starts serving the billing.

“An open model lets you write so the viewer stays because they care about what happens, not because they already paid. Our advantage is that we seek to solve this with more than one lever. By operating within the TelevisaUnivision ecosystem, the same intellectual property can generate value in various ways. This gives us room to prioritize narrative quality.”

After reaching one hundred original productions, Lares explained that offering the catalog for free was a strategic decision for ViX. “We want our format and content to become popular and connect with large audiences. Story calls to us, it’s not a romantic matter; it’s certainty and coherence with our market. The paywall, of course, is important, but we want to go beyond it. That’s where the future lies.”

He stated that it’s important that their titles be available for free on AVOD with ads and on SVOD without ads. “All 100% open, unlike other micro-drama apps that already responded to that, but in reality only have a minimal fraction of their catalog available for free.”

BRAND INTEGRATION

ViX MicrO has consolidated monetization through the organic integration of brands (branded content) in stories such as Nido de villanas (with Apple) or A un gol del paraíso (with Banorte and Bimbo, which surpassed 8 million views in its first week).

“When a brand organically enters a ViX MicrO story, it participates in narrative ambition and innovation without breaking the fiction. It doesn’t cause the friction of ‘you’re trying to force me to sell something.’ For millennial audiences and, particularly, Gen Z, this is especially important. The brand marries the story, and we make the message arrive directly in a native digital language and in an episodic fiction of broad emotional range that isn’t foreign content within the digital ecosystem: it’s born, grows and develops within it,” Lares explained.

THE FUTURE OF VERTICAL CONTENT

With the goal of reaching 300 original productions by 2027, the brand’s central challenge lies in sustaining an industrial pace of two to four micro-dramas per week, while maintaining discipline in costs and narrative quality.

Regarding the future of the industry in the region, Lares anticipates an inevitable shakeout of competitors, but for reasons different from traditional streaming: “The shakeout won’t come from a lack of capital, but from the ability to merge creative talent with flexible production. Latin America industrialized serialized melodrama before anyone else; the format is new, but the core competition is not.”