iWorld
Yupp Video and Gaim join forces to launch Heartland+ OTT App
MUMBAI: Yupp Video Services has struck a new chord in the streaming world. The B2B arm of YuppTV has partnered with Get After It Media to launch Heartland+, a fresh OTT platform that takes the popular Heartland Network beyond television and straight into the digital spotlight.
The collaboration blends Yupp Video Services’ white label OTT expertise with Gaim’s feel good entertainment brands, including Heartland, Retro TV, The Family Channel, The Action Channel and Rev’n. The result is a streaming app designed to feel familiar yet future ready.
Heartland+ will serve up a rich mix of country music, family friendly programming and action packed content, all wrapped in the network’s unmistakable country soul. Backed by the latest streaming technology, the platform offers both subscription options and a diverse range of data driven advertising formats.
Set to roll out in the second quarter, the app promises smooth viewing across connected TVs, mobiles and the web. Viewers get flexibility and choice, while advertisers gain sharper targeting and smarter ad solutions at scale.
Yupp Video Services founder and CEO Uday Reddy, said the partnership brings together technology and tradition in a compelling way. He noted that Heartland+ combines advanced analytics for advertisers with seamless, multi device viewing for audiences.
Get After It Media co president and CEO Joel Wertman, added that data driven audience solutions are central to the company’s future. He said working with Yupp Video Services enables Gaim to deliver greater efficiency, reach and relevance for advertisers.
With Heartland+ ready to stream, country roots are meeting digital wings, and both viewers and advertisers stand to enjoy the ride.
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.
