iWorld
Ad breaks, not heartbreaks as Abema renews Akamai Yospace pact
MUMBAI: In the high-stakes world of streaming, keeping viewers hooked while ads roll smoothly is a delicate balancing act and Abema is doubling down on getting it right. Japan’s leading online video platform has renewed its partnership with Akamai Technologies and Yospace, reinforcing a tech alliance designed to keep streams seamless and advertising smart.
Operated by AbemaTV, Abema clocks more than 500 million views every month, and the scale shows. The platform relies on Yospace’s server-side ad insertion, powered by Akamai’s globally distributed cloud infrastructure, to deliver broadcast-quality advertising across live streams without buffering, breaks or broken immersion.
The setup allows Abema to blend the familiarity of traditional television with the flexibility of digital streaming. Ads are dynamically inserted and tailored to individual viewers, while playback remains uninterrupted, even as audiences surge during live events.
For Abema, the renewed agreement is about future-proofing growth. As live viewership continues to climb, scalability and reliability have become non-negotiable. The Akamai Yospace combination ensures that ad personalisation, measurement and performance can scale in step with audience demand, without compromising viewing quality.
The collaboration underlines a broader trend in Japan’s streaming market, where platforms are pushing to monetise more intelligently rather than more aggressively. By focusing on smoother ad delivery and viewer-centric targeting, Abema is positioning itself at the intersection of performance, profitability and audience satisfaction proving that when ads are done right, viewers are more likely to stay tuned.
iWorld
Micro-Dramas Surge in India, Redefining Mobile Content Habits
Meta-Ormax study maps rapid rise of short-form storytelling among 18–44 audiences.
MUMBAI: Micro-dramas aren’t just short, they’re the snack that ate Indian entertainment, and now everyone’s bingeing between the sofa cushions. Meta, in partnership with Ormax Media, has released ‘Micro Dramas: The India Story’, a comprehensive study unveiled at the inaugural Meta Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. The report maps how the vertical, bite-sized format is reshaping content consumption for mobile-first audiences aged 18–44 across 14 states.
Conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 through 50 in-depth interviews and 2,000 personal surveys, the research reveals that 65 per cent of viewers discovered micro-dramas within the last year proof of explosive adoption. Nearly 89 per cent encounter the format through social feeds and recommendations, making algorithm-driven discovery the primary engine rather than active search.
Key viewing patterns show a median of 3.5 hours per week (about 30 minutes daily) spread across 7–8 short sessions. Consumption peaks between 8 pm and midnight, with additional spikes during commutes and work breaks classic “in-between moments” that the format fills perfectly. Around 57 per cent of viewing happens in ambient mode (while doing something else), and 90 per cent is solo, enabling more intimate, personal storytelling.
Romance, family drama and comedy lead genre preferences. Audiences show growing openness to AI-generated content, 47 per cent find it unique and creative, while only 6 per cent say they would avoid it entirely. Regional languages are surging after Hindi and English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada dominate consumption.
Meta, director, media & entertainment (India) Shweta Bajpai said, “Micro-drama isn’t a passing trend, it’s rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment. In under a year, an entirely new category of platforms has emerged, built audience habits from scratch, and created a business vertical that is scaling fast.”
Ormax Media founder-CEO Shailesh Kapoor added, “Micro-dramas are beginning to show the early signs of becoming a distinct content category in India’s digital entertainment landscape. When a format aligns closely with how audiences naturally engage with their devices, it has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The study proposes ecosystem-wide responsibility, universal signposting of commercial intent, shared accountability among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents, built-in safeguards, and formal media literacy in schools.
In a feed that never sleeps and a day that never stops, micro-dramas have slipped into the cracks of every spare minute turning 30-second stories into the new national pastime, one vertical swipe at a time.
