iWorld
Star disrupts programming; moves Plus’ youth show ‘Badtameez Dil’ to hotstar
MUMBAI: ’Tis the age of disruption and leading from the forefront is Star India. Even as media pundits have been shouting from rooftops about how over-the-top (OTT) platforms are poised to disrupt the Pay TV business, Star Plus has gone ahead and done the unthinkable.
In a first of sorts, the network is uprooting Star Plus’ youth fiction show Phir Bhi Na Mane Badtameez Dil from the channel and moving it exclusively to its OTT platform – hotstar.
The show will be available on hotstar exclusively from Monday, 28 September. New episodes of the show will be released every weekday morning.
Produced by Tequila Shot Productions’ Saurabh Tewary, Star Plus launched the show on-air on 29 June. It was being aired six days a week from Monday to Saturday in the 8.30 pm slot.
In an earlier interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Tewary had said that it would be a finite show with 300-350 episodes. “It is impossible to narrate a love story for ages and ages. Love stories are always finite shows and cannot be kept running for a longer period otherwise the show will lose its relevance and visibility,” he had said.
While internationally, seasons of shows like House of Cards amongst others have been exclusively released on the online platform Netflix, India is just waking up to the OTT game. A few baby steps have been taken by Indian OTT players like Sony Liv, ErosNow, DittoTV etc to churn out innovative and exclusive original content for the platform. However, this is the first time that a show from a linear channel is being uprooted and put on an OTT platform.
Phir Bhi Na Maane… Badtameez Dil is a love story between a VJ and a business head. The story revolves around the two, who get separated because of their misunderstandings and the manipulations of others only to meet again after seven years to resolve unsettled issues.
Star India has taken this step keeping in mind the fan following that Phir Bhi Na Mane Badtameez Dil has attracted on hotstar amongst digital users in the 18-24 age group.
The OTT space in India is rapidly picking up pace with companies churning out innovations and exclusive content. With competition heating up amongst players, disruption will be the only way forward to stay ahead in the game.
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.
