iWorld
BBC Player’s Christmas bounty: delightful binge-worthy treats with an incredible line-up of shows
Mumbai: As the merry-making season beckons, prepare yourselves for a sumptuous treat by BBC Player on Prime Video channels which brings goodies for everyone this Christmas season. A content line-up that’s a sizzling treat for your senses with plenty of drama, comedy, suspense, travel, and adventure, which is sure to keep you engrossed and enthralled.
Beginning with an unmissable show for all crime drama lovers is DCI Banks. Featuring the tenacious and stubborn Chief Inspector Alan Banks and the feisty and headstrong Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot, the thrilling crime stories are sure to keep you on the edge. Feed your mystery-loving mind, as the two unravel baffling mysteries.
There’s more drama to unravel with Blue Lights featuring three rookie police officers in Northern Ireland who have to survive their probation period. The team finds themselves fighting drug gangs, paramilitaries, undercover operatives, the local community and even their colleagues in a battle for justice. Thrill, humour and suspense, you name it, it has it all! If police drama is your game, then this is not missing this season.
Fulfil your love for the ethereal with Ghosts, which will jostle the mind and tickle your funny bone! Enter the crumbling country mansion Button House, which is home to eccentric spirits who have died over different periods of history. With its human occupants, Alison and Mike, you will surely fall in love with the show as the episodes unravel into a comedy chaos of sorts!
For all you food aficionados, Season 14 of The Great British Bake Off is here! Bringing yet another exciting baking battle with a dozen new contestants and a new host! Settle into your couches as you gorge into this multi-award-winning series. Replete with challenging rounds, the competition gets tougher with each elimination of the contestants. Make sure to devour this show to know who the new bake-off champion will be and who knows, you might just learn a few recipes for this jolly season!
To know more about the late talented multi-award-winning singer Amy Winehouse, watch Reclaiming Amy, which marks her tenth death anniversary. In an endeavour to celebrate her legacy, Amy’s friends and family members reveal the truth about the music icon and the impact that her loss has had on them. This personal and powerful account shows never-seen-before musical performances, and family archives revealing sides of her personality not known to many. To know more about Amy Winehouse, make sure to watch this new interpretation of her life and her legacy.
Tune in to One Cup, A Thousand Stories, an explorative documentary on tea and its impact on various civilizations. Feed your brains with this stunning series, which recounts beautiful stories of this drink, which is not just another hot beverage, but creates an emotional connection as well. An immersive experience that takes you through revelations of extraordinary tea estate landscapes, from high mountains to wild coasts and stories of men and women whose lives revolve around this nectar. Sit back, relax and sip away!
Young parents and children, fret not! The live feed of CBeebies on BBC Player and BBC Kids has a lot in store for you as well. Catch the fourth season of Hey Duggee for a fun and energetic time. Duggee is a big lovable dog, who runs a club for pre-schoolers and keeps them engaged in exciting activities.
Then there is Bluey season 1, where Bluey follows the adventures of a lovable and inexhaustible six-year-old Heeler puppy who lives with her dad, mum and four-year-old little sister, Bingo.
Next is Season 1 of Supertato, a slapstick comedy animation series which showcases the good battles against evil among the aisles of the world’s greatest potato supermarket. With these three exciting shows, the little ones are sure to remain amused and excited!
So, cosy up with your loved ones and make sure to watch these incredible shows on BBC Player on Prime Video Channels and add them to your must-watch list to fill your days with thrill and joy!
iWorld
Micro-Dramas Surge in India, Redefining Mobile Content Habits
Meta-Ormax study maps rapid rise of short-form storytelling among 18–44 audiences.
MUMBAI: Micro-dramas aren’t just short, they’re the snack that ate Indian entertainment, and now everyone’s bingeing between the sofa cushions. Meta, in partnership with Ormax Media, has released ‘Micro Dramas: The India Story’, a comprehensive study unveiled at the inaugural Meta Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. The report maps how the vertical, bite-sized format is reshaping content consumption for mobile-first audiences aged 18–44 across 14 states.
Conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 through 50 in-depth interviews and 2,000 personal surveys, the research reveals that 65 per cent of viewers discovered micro-dramas within the last year proof of explosive adoption. Nearly 89 per cent encounter the format through social feeds and recommendations, making algorithm-driven discovery the primary engine rather than active search.
Key viewing patterns show a median of 3.5 hours per week (about 30 minutes daily) spread across 7–8 short sessions. Consumption peaks between 8 pm and midnight, with additional spikes during commutes and work breaks classic “in-between moments” that the format fills perfectly. Around 57 per cent of viewing happens in ambient mode (while doing something else), and 90 per cent is solo, enabling more intimate, personal storytelling.
Romance, family drama and comedy lead genre preferences. Audiences show growing openness to AI-generated content, 47 per cent find it unique and creative, while only 6 per cent say they would avoid it entirely. Regional languages are surging after Hindi and English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada dominate consumption.
Meta, director, media & entertainment (India) Shweta Bajpai said, “Micro-drama isn’t a passing trend, it’s rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment. In under a year, an entirely new category of platforms has emerged, built audience habits from scratch, and created a business vertical that is scaling fast.”
Ormax Media founder-CEO Shailesh Kapoor added, “Micro-dramas are beginning to show the early signs of becoming a distinct content category in India’s digital entertainment landscape. When a format aligns closely with how audiences naturally engage with their devices, it has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The study proposes ecosystem-wide responsibility, universal signposting of commercial intent, shared accountability among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents, built-in safeguards, and formal media literacy in schools.
In a feed that never sleeps and a day that never stops, micro-dramas have slipped into the cracks of every spare minute turning 30-second stories into the new national pastime, one vertical swipe at a time.
