iWorld
JioSaavn Replay 2025 maps India’s year in sound
MUMBAI: JioSaavn has turned the volume up on its annual listening recap with the launch of Replay 2025, a data-led snapshot of how India listened through the year. Built from streaming activity between January and mid November 2025, the feature delivers personalised summaries to users while also revealing broader trends shaping the country’s audio habits.
Unsurprisingly for a nation that listens in many tongues, Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Tamil and English emerged as the most streamed languages on the platform. Listening peaked during the daily rush hours, with streams surging between 8 and 10 in the morning and again from 5 to 7 in the evening, turning commutes into the country’s busiest listening sessions.
Familiar voices continued to dominate the charts. Arijit Singh led the pack, followed by Alka Yagnik, Pritam Chakraborty, Udit Narayan and Shreya Ghoshal, underlining the enduring appeal of India’s most recognisable playback stars. Alongside them, regional favourites held their own, with artists such as Devi Sri Prasad in Telugu, Anirudh Ravichander in Tamil and Karan Aujla in Punjabi commanding strong followings, while global names like The Weeknd also found space in Indian playlists.
Song choices reflected a similar blend. Tracks such as ‘Saiyaara’, ‘Sahiba’, ‘Bujji Thalli’, ‘Barbaad’ and ‘Apna Bana Le’ ranked among the most streamed overall, while regional favourites including ‘Vazhithunaiye’, ‘Ranu Bombai ki Ranu’, ‘Wavy’, ‘Die With a Smile’ and ‘Paravashanadenu’ showcased the diversity of listening across languages.
Beyond music, podcasts continued to gain traction, reinforcing JioSaavn’s evolution into a multi-format audio platform. Popular titles ranged from devotional offerings like ‘Shri Krishna Amritvani’ and ‘Shiv Puran’ to audio fiction and reflective storytelling such as ‘Yakshini’ and ‘Dhadkane Meri Sun’.
The data extended to JioTunes as well, where caller tunes mirrored wider cultural moods. Classics like ‘Tum Hi Ho’ and ‘Ram Siya Ram’ topped the overall list, while regional picks pointed to growing personalisation driven by language and emotion.
Now live on the JioSaavn app homepage, Replay 2025 offers more than a personal rewind. It doubles as a clear-eyed look at how India’s audio tastes are evolving, one stream at a time.
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.
