iWorld
Hoichoi achieves a subscriber base of 13 million
KOLKATA: The leading Bengali OTT platform, Hoichoi, has completed three years in the industry with its grand launch in 2017. It has achieved a subscriber base of 13 million with 40 per cent of its revenue coming from international customers. It has also doubled its revenue in the past year.
With the vision of "entertaining people in their local language” and having over 60 Originals and 50 World Digital Premieres, Hoichoi has unveiled a fresh slate of 25 new Originals, two first day first show films and multiple world digital premieres for the upcoming year.
As a Hoichoi subscriber spends 50 minutes a day on the platform, the OTT player is always keen on bringing the best of technology for its customers. It has revealed a sneak peek into its new UI/UX (user interface/user experience) built which is seamless and easy to use for the customers.
A parental control feature will soon be added, which comes with Hoichoi being among the top 15 OTT platforms of India who have signed up for a unified self-regulation process with IAMAI for classification and demarcation of content available on all video-on-demand apps and websites in India.
Having customers over 100 countries including places like Japan, Sweden, Argentina, Iceland and more, Hoichoi has also announced Carrier Billing. It is an affordable way to consume content in the form of sache pricing and to buy a weekly or monthly subscription by paying with their mobile balance. This will be soon available for users in Bangladesh and Middle East. There’s also, subscription bundling, specifically for customers in India with JioFibre and Bangladesh with its top telecommunication network.
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.
