iWorld
Sony Corp takes equity stake in Chinese online platform Bilibili
MUMBAI: Sony Corp America (SCA) will pay Chinese online entertainment platform Bilibili $400 million in an all-cash transaction. On completion of the deal, the two companies will work together to tap the Chinese market, especially in sectors such as mobile games and anime.
Once the deal is closed, SCA will own around 4.98 per cent of Bilibili's total issued shares.
Bilibili, which started as an animation website targeted at and popular among younger audiences, now seeks to diversify into other areas like music videos, documentaries, and e-sports, attracting more than 130 million users per month. Its offerings include videos, live broadcasting and mobile games. Bilibili has primarily been known for its user-generated, short-form content. Of late, it has ventured into professional content-making, extending its bouquet of offerings to documentaries and long-form films. Its recent partnership includes the one with Discovery and China Intercontinental Communication Center to make “COVID-19: Battling the Devil,” about China’s battle against the virus.
“The strategic investment and business cooperation (by Sony) further align our goals to bring best-in-class content offerings and services to our users, as we increase our (Chinese) domestic stronghold in animation and mobile games,” said Bilibili CEO and chairman Rui Chen.
iWorld
Applause, Story TV team up to push microdrama content
Partnership to create premium short form shows for mobile first viewers
MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment and Story TV are betting on short attention spans with a long-term vision, joining forces to create a slate of premium microdramas for mobile-first audiences.
The partnership brings together Applause’s storytelling pedigree and Story TV’s fast-growing digital reach, with plans to co-produce and distribute bite-sized dramas across genres. As part of the deal, Story TV will also adapt the romantic thriller Hello Mini into a vertical microdrama format, signalling a shift in how stories are being reshaped for smaller screens.
Backed by the Aditya Birla Group, Applause Entertainment has built a reputation for high-quality content with titles like Scam 1992 and Criminal Justice. Story TV, launched in 2025, has quickly scaled up with a library of over 1,000 titles across languages and genres, riding the wave of mobile consumption.
Story TV founder and CEO Saurabh Pandey said, “Phones are now the primary screens for content consumption, and microdramas are evolving into a mainstream format. At Story TV, we are blending storytelling with technology to push this format further.”
He added that the collaboration with Applause Entertainment will help expand the reach of microdramas while introducing a layer of premium storytelling to the space.
Applause Entertainment chief business officer Prasoon Garg said, “At Applause, we have always focused on strong storytelling across formats. As microdramas gain momentum, this partnership allows us to explore the space with a platform that understands both the format and its audience.”
With mobile screens shrinking and content getting sharper, the collaboration hints at a future where storytelling is not just shorter, but smarter, designed to fit neatly into the scroll of everyday life.
