Yash Raj Films invests in Rusk Media, bets on vertical entertainment

MUMBAI: Yash Raj Films has put its money where India’s thumbs are, taking a strategic stake in digital-first entertainment outfit Rusk Media in its maiden bet on the country’s fast-growing vertical entertainment market. The studio, long synonymous with the big screen, is now elbowing its way into mobile-first storytelling, chasing audiences who increasingly watch their drama in portrait mode.

Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. The deal lands just days after Rusk Media pocketed Rs 100 crore in a Pre-Series C round led by Nazara Technologies, with existing backers Info Edge Ventures and IvyCap Ventures, alongside an Audacity VC-led consortium, also chipping in. YRF itself is no minnow, having posted operating revenue of Rs 740 crore and a net profit of Rs 56 crore in FY24, per Acuité Ratings & Research.

The tie-up arrives as vertical storytelling, portrait-mode videos built for scrolling thumbs, cements itself as one of the fastest-growing digital entertainment formats worldwide, riding the wave of younger, mobile-first viewing habits. Under the arrangement, YRF will steer the creative direction of original animation and vertical micro-drama IP, while Rusk Media handles production and distribution through its Alright! TV platform and other global digital channels.

Rather than recycling its film franchises for smaller screens, YRF is starting from scratch, betting on fresh intellectual property tailored to vertical storytelling’s own rules and rhythms. The ambition is bigger than one platform: building IP robust enough to travel across borders and position India as a genuine creative force in the vertical entertainment economy, a market that has so far delivered eyeballs in their millions but precious few franchises with staying power.

With Bollywood’s storytelling chops now pointed squarely at the smartphone screen, the real test begins: whether YRF can turn India’s army of mobile-first viewers, all 377 million and counting, into the audience for the country’s next great franchise, one swipe at a time.