iWorld
Sri Lanka Telecom partners with Hungama Digital, to launch OTT platform
MUMBAI: Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and its local partner Evoke International (Pvt) Limited has partnered with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment (Pvt) Limited. This partnership will provide SLT broadband customers with high quality video streaming, music downloads and gaming facilities, bringing a cinema experience like never before right into the home in Sri Lanka.
SLT broadband customers will be able to register for Hungama services by visiting www.sltfilmhall.lk. Upon registration, customers can download and view unlimited movie streaming, music streaming as well as gaming for a monthly subscription fee.
Hungama Digital Siddharth Roy said, “We are thrilled about this partnership with SLT the front runner of telecommunications and Evoke the market leader of the local content distribution in digital platforms. We are expecting to launch new entertainment products in Sri Lanka in the near future.”
The company will launch the first of its kind a streaming service via Sri Lanka’s OTT (Over-The-Top) platform to make entertainment options available online to Sri Lankans. Through this agreement, the customers in Sri Lanka can access a vast collection of new Hollywood, Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Sinhala movies, songs as well as video games at attractive prices. The value for the services accessed can be paid along with the customer’s telephone bill at the end of the month.
Commenting on this latest partnership, SLT group CEO Dileepa Wijesundera said, “Our customers are already experiencing world class personalized television entertainment through our PEO TV service. Through this important partnership with Hungama, we wish to add more value to our customers and provide them with high quality, world class entertainment content at their fingertips. We are certain that this will totally redefine their entertainment experience.”
The contract with Evoke International for content delivery will ensure that customers are provided access to a large database of the latest releases in songs as well as just premiered foreign and local movies with the highest quality ever experienced for video streaming and music downloading.
SLT Broadband customers will be offered online entertainment options with a subscription fee. The services will be expanded to Mobitel’s mobile customers and PEO TV customers by adding the feature to the PEO Set Top Box (STB) and thereafter, to all other internet users in Sri Lanka phase by phase.
Evoke International CEO Lahiru Wickramasinghe said, “We are excited to partner with Hungama India to provide this service to SLT, the ICT leader in Sri Lanka, as it will enable us to touch the lives of the people in Sri Lanka by providing Entertainment from across the globe to their fingertips.”
SLT also intends to allow its OTT entertainment service subscribers to access content on mobile devices through a mobile app.
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.
