iWorld
Dice Media releases final season of ‘What the Folks!’
Mumbai: After a three-year long hiatus, Pocket Aces’ long-form storytelling channel Dice Media has released the fourth and final season of web show – “What The Folks!” (WTF4). The previous seasons of WTF have garnered a reach of over 80 million on YouTube, the platform said.
Presented by toothsi and co-powered by Sugar Cosmetics, the fourth season will also see participation from complementing partners like Manyavar, Tru Hair and skinnsi.
WTF4 focuses on the Sharma family that is seen hustling between two major life decisions of marriage and parenthood that its members are about to take. Elaborating the rationale behind the brand integrations, the official statement read, “With wedding bells in full swing, the invisible aligners by toothsi and makeup range by SUGAR Cosmetics seamlessly support the storyline. These new-age brands have taken to content integrations to establish long-term recall value among relevant audiences. Manyavar has already created a presence for itself the Indian wedding-wear segment, not just for the bride and groom but for every other family member too.”
toothsi head of marketing Shuchita Wadhwa said, “The show is targeted at our country’s youth. It is an amazing match for a youth-oriented brand like toothsi and skinnsi, leading clinical beauty platforms. A wedding signifies the start of a new and most important chapter in life, one in which lifelong memories are formed. Through ‘What The Folks! S4’, we strive to be a part of these important occasions and to help people feel more confident which comes across through the characters in the show.”
“We are super stoked to have partnered with Dice Media for ‘What the Folks! Season 4’. This season’s focus on a wedding syncs well with the launch of our Sugar Bride IP. Anita’s sister will be seen as a Sugar Bride, using the Bridal Box for her wedding look. Her friends and Anita will be a part of the Bride Tribe. This seamless integration will help us build a strong connection with the show’s viewers and we are certain that it will take us a step further in instilling customer recall for SUGAR Cosmetics as ‘the brand’ for every bride, for their bridal trousseaus and for their bridesmaids,” added Sugar Cosmetics co-founder and COO Kaushik Mukherjee.
“It has been a beautiful journey over the past four seasons of ‘What the Folks!’ and we are very proud to see how the show has struck the right chords with its fan base making the whole journey truly worthwhile for us and our partners,” commented Pocket Aces AVP sales and brand solutions Sheveeta Hedge.
“We are glad to have built synergies with exciting and new-age brand partners like toothsi & Sugar in the season finale of ‘WTF!’ and are certain that they will benefit hugely from this collaboration. With the show coming to an end, there is a feeling of void but I am confident that our Dice audience will have more stimulating content to look forward to this year,” she added.
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.
