iWorld
Bite-sized dramas are about to swallow the streaming world whole
CANNES: Forget your boxsets. Forget your hour-long dramas. Audiences are ditching long-form television for something far more intoxicating: episodes that fit in your pocket and demand your full attention in under ten minutes.
Microdramas—those addictive mini-narratives designed for mobile consumption—are redefining entertainment. And the numbers are staggering. According to Omdia, the consultancy that presented its findings at Mipcom, Cannes, this genre will nearly double the revenue of Fast channels, which are projected to pull in just $5.8bn next year.
“Viewers are willing to pay for content that captures them emotionally in seconds,” said María Rua Aguete, head of media and entertainment at Omdia. “Microdramas demonstrate that attention spans may be shorter, but engagement is deeper and more valuable.”
The monetisation model is brutally simple: hook viewers with free episodes, then charge them through subscription or pay-per-episode channels. This approach accounts for more than 60 per cent of total revenue. The payoff is formidable. Average revenue per user can reach $20 per week—or up to $80 per month—making microdramas extraordinarily profitable.
China dominates the space, generating 83 per cent of global revenue, fuelled by a colossal audience and a mobile-first culture. Beyond China, the US claims half of international revenue, with Japan, South Korea, the UK and Thailand emerging as hungry new markets.
“Microdramas are redefining what it means to tell premium stories in the digital age,” Aguete said. “They combine the immediacy of social media with the emotional depth of dramatic television. They are short, addictive, and irresistible.”
This isn’t a fad. As consumer habits shift inexorably towards mobile and short-form content, microdramas are poised to become the centrepiece of digital entertainment—a seismic fusion of social video and traditional storytelling that will reshape how the world consumes drama. The wave is here. And it’s only just begun to crest.
iWorld
OneOTT partners with UP govt for Project GANGA broadband rollout
Initiative to connect 2M plus households, empower 8,000–10,000 entrepreneurs in 2–3 years.
MUMBAI: Uttar Pradesh just got a digital Ganga flow because when broadband meets ambition, even villages start streaming faster than city traffic. OneOTT Intertainment Ltd. (OIL), the broadband arm of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) under the Hinduja Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Transformation Commission (STC), Government of Uttar Pradesh, for Project GANGA (Government Assisted Network for Growth & Advancement).
The MoU, signed on 7 March 2026 in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Finance & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, aims to empower 8,000–10,000 local entrepreneurs at the Nyaya Panchayat level as independent Digital Service Providers (DSPs). A significant number of these DSPs are expected to be women. The initiative will deliver high-speed broadband to over 2 million households in the next 2–3 years and create direct and indirect employment for more than 100,000 individuals.
Project GANGA will support government priorities in digital education, healthcare and public services while enabling MSMEs and enterprises with reliable connectivity. DSPs will receive structured training, financing assistance, network build-out support and technology enablement.
STC CEO Manoj Kumar Singh said, “Project GANGA is a significant step toward expanding inclusive digital infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. By empowering local entrepreneurs, the program will strengthen service delivery and ensure affordable digital access for underserved communities.”
OIL, MD & CEO and HGS whole-time director Vynsley Fernandes added, “This initiative reflects our long-term commitment to enabling digital access and economic opportunity at scale. Project GANGA is structured as a multi-year program focused on entrepreneur onboarding, network deployment and workforce development.”
OIL brings execution strength backed by HGS and NXTDIGITAL’s national footprint, which already connects over 5 million homes across more than 4,500 pin codes in 1,500 cities and towns through 15,000 plus franchise partners and over 2 lakh kilometres of fibre infrastructure. The ecosystem will support broadband, IPTV, OTT, CCTV, satellite internet and cybersecurity solutions for households, businesses and public institutions.
In a state racing toward digital inclusion, Project GANGA isn’t just laying cables, it’s laying the foundation for millions to connect, learn, heal and earn, one Nyaya Panchayat at a time.
