iWorld
MX Player gets into a multi-year partnership with Lionsgate
Mumbai: MX Player has partnered with global giant Lionsgate to bring premium Hollywood content, including award-winning titles across genres.
With over 200,000 hours of content across 800+ original series, web series, international, dubbed content and an average time spent of 56 minutes per user per day, MX Player continues to ink partnerships to make quality content available to all of its users.
MX Player senior vice president (content acquisitions and alliances) Mansi Shrivastav said, “At MX Player, we are invested in our consumers. As the second largest entertainment ecosystem across the globe, we have continually and consistently brought diverse content to the platform across genres, formats, and languages. Our partnership with Lionsgate allows us to bring some of the most popular and commercially acclaimed Hollywood films to our viewers in their local languages.”
She further added, “This partnership also enables us to attract new users to the platform while consolidating our existing audience base. We are thrilled with this alliance and look forward to working closely with the team at Lionsgate to make more Hollywood content available for users in the region.”
MX Player users in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives will now have access to 50+ Hollywood blockbuster films dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu each year as a result of this collaboration.
Through this collaboration with Lionsgate, MX Player will have access to the most recent and well-liked Hollywood blockbusters, significantly broadening its current content inventory and enabling fans to watch movies in their preferred language.
Lionsgate vice president (licensing and content partnerships) Gayathiri Guliani said, “Lionsgate has been bullish for its compelling content slate, and we are delighted to partner with MX Player as this will multiply our consumption, reaching out to maximum viewer base. It’s all about genre diversification, breaking language barriers, and having the best stories to watch. This alliance is all set to grow with multiple Lionsgate titles made available on the platform, spoiling viewers for choice.”
“Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 1”, “Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2”, “War” (2007) and “Destruction: Las Vegas” (2013) are among the recommended titles for September 2022 on MX Player.
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.
