iWorld
Verizon Digital Media partners with Airtel for POPs
MUMBAI: Verizon Digital Media Services, the next-generation digital media platform, and Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, have partnered to launch new points of presence (PoPs) in four cities in India: Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi.
The four PoP installations mark Verizon Digital Media Services’ significant investment into expanding throughout the country, leveraging Airtel’s digital infrastructure as a gateway to India. This partnership will ensure that content on the Verizon Digital Media Services platform can be accessed by digital media consumers in a fast, seamless and reliable way and will improve the experience for users in India.
“We are expanding our content delivery network in strategic markets that our customers care about, and we have found a long-term partner in Airtel Business,” said Verizon Digital Media Services Chief Technology Officer Rob Peters. “The launch of these strategic PoPs marks the beginning of a strong partnership between Verizon and Airtel Business and further cements our commitment to providing consumers in India, one of the fastest-growing markets for digital media consumption, with exceptional services and quality.”
In addition to Airtel’s world-class data center services and unparalleled network across the country, this move enables Verizon Digital Media Services to provide superior digital media experiences to millions of internet users in India.
The newly installed PoPs have already yielded exceptional outcomes. Using third-party Cedexis measurement tools, Verizon Digital Media Services has observed significant network improvements when comparing its network performance in India before and after the PoP installations. The amount of time required on Verizon Digital Media Services’ servers to receive users’ requests, respond and deliver results has significantly decreased.
“India is fast emerging as a large regional IP Hub and we are excited to enable Verizon Digital Media Services to provide best-in-class digital services in India. This collaboration ensures superior user experiences and seamlessly handles traffic spikes as connected devices, subscribers and content size continue to grow. We are delighted by the positive results seen in a very short time and we are confident that in the long term, Indian mobile Internet users are going to immensely benefit from this partnership,” said Bharti Airtel director & CEO-global voice & data business Ajay Chitkara.
Airtel has a presence that spans 18 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and 15 countries in Africa. It offers both B2C and B2B telecom services, including wireless and fixed line technology, national and international long-distance connectivity, Digital TV and IPTV services, and complete integrated telecom solutions to enterprise customers. Airtel’s global network runs across 225,000 Rkms, covering 50 countries and five continents.
Verizon Digital Media Services has points of presence in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. More than 3,000 interconnections help to ensure that content is delivered reliably and securely — anytime, anywhere, on any device.
The company’s exclusive end-to-end platform also provides a variety of solutions, including the Video Lifecycle Solution, the Web Acceleration Solution and the Commerce Acceleration Solution, for broadcast, enterprise and commerce businesses, respectively.
Some of the clients which are using Verizon Digital Media’s services include: ABC, SoundCloud, Hearst Television, tumblr, twitter, Pintrest,among many others.
iWorld
JioHotstar to launch micro dramas during IPL
Streaming giant plans free, ad-supported bite-sized stories during IPL to engage mobile-first audiences
JioHotstar is gearing up to launch a wave of micro dramas, eyeing India’s fast-growing appetite for bite-sized storytelling and new revenue opportunities. According to sources close to the matter, the streaming platform is expected to go live with the content during the Indian Premier League, which runs from 28 March to 31 May.
The move comes as the micro-drama market in India surges, with Redseer Strategy Consultants projecting the overall interactive media segment could reach $3.1–3.4 billion by FY2030, with micro dramas leading the growth. The format has already proven commercially viable abroad — China’s micro-drama sector generated $360 million in 2023, up 267 per cent year-on-year.
Micro dramas are designed for rapid consumption on mobile devices. Episodes typically run 60–90 seconds, shot in vertical 9:16 format, and rely on fast-paced plots and cliffhangers to keep viewers glued. Stories tend to revolve around high-stakes drama, from romance and revenge to corporate intrigue, blending social-media immediacy with professional production values.
Sources said the IPL provides the perfect launchpad, with millions tuning in to the platform for live cricket, creating a ready audience for short-form narrative experiments. The content will initially be free and accessible to all.
JioHotstar, which already boasts over 300 million subscribers, plans to roll out more than 100 micro dramas across multiple genres and languages, including Hindi and South Indian languages. The move is expected to strengthen its regional content strategy and appeal to mobile-first viewers, particularly in metro and Tier-1 cities where the format is currently most popular.
“The timing is perfect,” said a source close to the project, requesting anonymity. “With micro dramas on the rise, this is a chance for JioHotstar to experiment with new formats and engage audiences in a way traditional series cannot.”
The platform is not the first in India to test the format. ALTBalaji, StoryTV and Zee Bullet have all dabbled in short episodic storytelling. But JioHotstar’s scale — and its ability to pair content with one of the country’s biggest sporting events — could make it a defining moment for micro dramas in India.
With mobile consumption and vernacular content on the rise, the gamble seems clear: capture attention fast, keep it longer, and turn bite-sized narratives into a robust revenue engine.
Note: The cover image used is AI-generated.
