iWorld
HOOQ videos for Hyderabadis through ACT Fibernet
MUMBAI: Singapore based video-on-demand service, HOOQ, has joined hands with Bengaluru’s ACT Fibernet. With this strategic partnership, ACT customers of Hyderabad will be able to avail a month’s free subscription of the service.
The partnership is being piloted in Hyderabad, and will later be taken to other ACT markets such as Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi.
“Under this partnership, ACT customers will be able to avail one month of free HOOQ subscription that translates into a window to unlimited streaming of over 10,000 Hollywood, Bollywood and local movies along with drama titles available on HOOQ,” said HOOQ India MD Salil Kapoor.
Through this, the viewers can view HOOQ’s exclusives and television shows like Flash, Arrow, Gotham, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, etc. Further, the viewers could download the content for viewing at leisure, he explained.
ACT Group CEO Bala Malladi added, “Hyderabad is one of the highest internet penetrated markets.”
Furthermore, as earlier reported by Indiantelevision.com, the VOD service plans to invest $ 2 million in original Indian content. This is a part of its APAC strategy to start sourcing local original content in Asian countries.
HOOQ, a joint venture of SingTel, Sony Pictures TV and Warner Bros., entered the Indian market in May this year with a catalogue of over 10,000 movies and TV series.
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.
