iWorld
PallyCon partners with Akamai to offer forensic watermarking protection to OTT Content
MUMBAI: PallyCon, a global leader in digital rights management and forensic watermarking services, has teamed up with Akamai, the intelligent edge platform, to secure streaming video content against piracy and illegal distribution.
A large number of OTT distributors, studios, and sports rights holders use Akamai for delivering streaming services. To help protect their customers against attempts by pirates to steal their content and minimize their means of distribution, Akamai has developed a comprehensive security ecosystem of anti-piracy providers through its Technology Partner Program. By combining its own capabilities with those of key partners it’s able to address many of the common practices used by pirates such as credential theft, system hacking, rebroadcasting of stolen streams, and VPN abuse.
PallyCon’s forensic-watermarking service ensures that a content creator can trace the source of piracy of streaming content. Working in tandem with a DRM service – PallyCon offers it as SaaS – forensic watermarking helps creators identify leakages right to the last user who leaks or consumes the content illegally.
INKA Entworks global business head Govindraj Basatwar says, “We consider it a privilege to partner with Akamai. It has created an innovative integration of forensic-watermarking vendors in its ecosystem, which will boost the fight against piracy. PallyCon has started offering a scalable forensic-watermarking solution to customers using the Akamai edge.”
Using PallyCon’s forensic watermark service, Akamai users can identify illegal video streams at the relevant leakage points. Once a client has identified illegal distribution, it can proceed to take further action against the violators as per its legal policies.
Commenting on the integration of forensic-watermarking vendors in the Akamai ecosystem, Amit Kasturia, senior manager of media product management at Akamai, says, “Akamai clients spend millions of dollars creating and acquiring content. They bank on us to protect their revenue streams against piracy. By integrating PallyCon’s forensic watermarking solution into our network, we have bolstered our security ecosystem further. PallyCon’s solution is winning the trust of content creators by helping them identify illegal users of their offerings.”
To help clients across different sectors and sizes – from studios to regional distributors – PallyCon offers a range of subscription models. The forensic watermarking service comes clubbed with its DRM service, which a client can try for free for a month. PallyCon’s forensic watermarking suite can be applied to video streams of all resolutions.
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.
