iWorld
Micro-dramas rewrite India’s digital storytelling rules
New format delivers 800 hours of content and Rs 650 crore in revenue in 2025 alone.
MUMBAI: Micro-dramas just turned two-minute attention spans into a full-blown industry because when your story has to hook someone before they swipe away, every second counts like a cliffhanger.
At the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Industry Report launch, a high-powered panel explored how micro-dramas are reshaping content creation, discovery and monetisation in India’s digital ecosystem. Moderated by film critic Stutee Ghosh, the session featured Karan Bedi (Director & Head, Amazon MX Player), Kunj Sanghvi (SVP – Content, Kuku TV), Neha Markanda (chief business officer, Sharechat and Moj), Saameer Mody (Founder & MD, Pocket Films & Pocket TV) and Shweta Bajpai (Group Director – Finserv, Media, Travel and Services, Meta India).
The discussion opened with a clear question: what exactly is a micro-drama? Kunj Sanghvi offered the most precise definition, positioning it as content that sits comfortably between long-form films and short-form Reels. “It is feature-length stories 90 to 100 minutes in total told in 45 to 50 episodes of roughly two minutes each,” he explained. The real differentiator, he added, lies in algorithmic distribution on social feeds. A strong cliffhanger at the end of each snippet creates an “uncontrollable urge” to download the app and continue, turning passive scrolling into active consumption.
Shweta Bajpai brought a platform perspective, noting that micro-drama perfectly combines three major trends that have been building for the past four to five years, short-form video, creator-led storytelling, and episodic entertainment. She pointed out that 71 per cent of consumers discovered the category only in the last six months, with a staggering 89 per cent stumbling upon it organically while browsing Reels or Facebook feeds. Once hooked, they click the call-to-action and start bingeing.
One of the most striking revelations was the solitary nature of consumption. According to Meta’s report with Ormax Media, 90 per cent of micro-drama viewing happens alone. This private, personal-screen habit gives creators room to experiment with edgier, more intimate or bold narratives that might not work in a shared family viewing environment.
The panel addressed the frequent criticism that micro-dramas are merely dopamine hits rather than proper storytelling. Saameer Mody countered that telling a compelling story in a very short time is actually harder than in long-form. “Short filmmakers have always said it’s tougher to deliver your message in limited time,” he noted, comparing it to advertising, which has told complete stories in under 30 seconds for decades. “Two minutes is luxury,” he quipped.
Neha Markanda observed that the format’s rapid acceleration has surprised even insiders. From 150 million daily views shortly after launch to 400 million today, with average time spent nearing 50 minutes per day, the growth has been “beyond phenomenal.” She estimated that 10–15 per cent of India’s internet population is already consuming micro-dramas across platforms, leaving massive headroom for expansion. EY predictions suggest the category could grow 3x in three years, but some panellists believe it could be even faster.
Kunj Sanghvi highlighted that genres in micro-dramas evolve and exhaust quickly. “Genres get exhausted really fast,” he said. “After the 50th micro-drama of the same type, the audience already knows what’s coming.” This forces constant innovation and micro-segmentation. Platforms are already serving very specific audiences, IAS aspirants, middle-aged romance seekers, or those who enjoy moral conflicts between doctors and billionaires proving the format’s ability to cater to niche emotional triggers.
Regionalisation is seen as inevitable. While Hindi currently dominates, Tamil and Telugu are growing fast, and vernacular supply is expected to catch up with demand. The cost of creation, already low, is falling further with AI tools, raising the prospect of hundreds of new titles every month in the near future.
Karan Bedi explained MX Player’s decision to keep the format entirely free, “We think there is potentially 800 million screens in India. If we’re at 10–15 per cent penetration today, we have 8x to go.” By removing the paywall, the platform aims to learn rapidly at scale and capture the massive untapped audience.
The panel agreed that micro-drama is not replacing traditional long-form storytelling but adding a new, highly addictive layer tailored to fragmented attention spans and mobile-first habits. As Shweta Bajpai put it, today’s audience is “entertainment hungry, but has less time to spare” and wants content that feels both personal and aspirational.
In a world where everyone is racing against the next swipe, micro-dramas have mastered the art of the perfect hook proving that the smallest screen can still deliver the biggest emotional punch, two minutes at a time. With India still at relatively low penetration compared to China’s 80 per cent, the format is poised for explosive growth, and the only question left is how quickly creators and platforms can keep feeding the insatiable appetite for the next cliffhanger.
iWorld
Streaming boom crosses 200 million as India shifts to sustainable growth
From content bets to CTV rise, industry leaders map streaming’s next phase
MUMBAI: India’s streaming story has entered a new chapter, and this time it is less about land grab and more about staying power. At a panel on the evolving streaming economy, industry leaders agreed that with subscriptions crossing 200 million and revenues surging, the focus has decisively shifted to sustainable growth, smarter content bets and sharper partnerships.
Moderator EY partner Raghav Anand, set the tone by pointing to the sharp jump in paid subscriptions, driven by a mix of sports, bundling and improved distribution. The result is a fast-maturing ecosystem where subscription revenues are beginning to complement, and in some cases rival, advertising-led growth.
For Amazon Prime Video Svod business India director & head Shilangi Mukherji, the past decade has been about balancing choice with clarity. “It’s not an either-or market anymore,” she noted. “There is space for everything, from television to ad-supported streaming to subscriptions. The real win is when they all grow together.”
At the heart of this growth lies a simple trio: selection, value and convenience. Content remains king, but not in isolation. Platforms are now curating vast libraries that blend originals, rentals, and third-party services, all under one roof. The aim is to create an ecosystem where viewers do not need to hop between apps to find what they want.
Content itself is also evolving. Mukherji highlighted that nearly half of Prime Video’s viewership comes from outside a show’s home region, underlining the collapse of traditional language silos. Stories are no longer “regional” but increasingly pan-Indian, with talent and narratives travelling seamlessly across states.
Franchise-building has become another cornerstone, with a majority of shows designed for multiple seasons. The goal is not just to attract viewers but to keep them coming back, turning series into long-term cultural touchpoints rather than one-off hits.
On the production side, Hungama Digital Media managing director & CEO Neeraj Roy, described an industry that is both resilient and recalibrating. While the pandemic accelerated content consumption and discovery, it also reset market dynamics. Pre-sales have softened, satellite revenues have tightened, and the easy money phase of digital deals has cooled.
“The honeymoon is over,” Roy said candidly. “Now, content has to prove itself. If it works at the box office or with audiences, everything else follows.”
This shift, he argued, is pushing creators towards greater discipline. Fewer projects are being made, but with sharper focus on quality and audience appeal. At the same time, global exposure to diverse content, from Korean dramas to Malayalam cinema, has raised the bar for storytelling across the board.
Another quiet transformation is unfolding in how content is consumed. While mobile remains the primary gateway, especially for payments and discovery, connected TVs are fast becoming the preferred screen for long-form viewing. Mukherji described this not as a battle of devices but as a “force multiplier”, with platforms tailoring plans for mobile-only users, living room viewers and multi-device households alike.
The monetisation playbook is also widening. Beyond subscriptions and ads, platforms are experimenting with rentals, bundled offerings and commerce integrations, building layered revenue streams that cater to different stages of the consumer journey.
Looking ahead, both panellists pointed to global ambition as the next frontier. Mukherji emphasised taking Indian stories to the world through deeper localisation, calling content India’s soft power. Roy, meanwhile, stressed the need for investment in infrastructure, skills and, crucially, transparent data systems to guide creators with better insights.
If the first phase of India’s streaming boom was about scale, the next will be about substance. And as the industry settles into this new rhythm, one thing is clear: the real streaming wars may be over, but the race to win viewers’ time has only just begun.
