iWorld
ZEE5 is India’s ‘most desired video streaming brand’ as per TRA
MUMBAI: ZEE5 has emerged as ‘India’s Most Desired Video Streaming Brand’ as per TRA’s recently-released Most Desired Brands 2020 report. In today’s world, with mobile phones and connected devices driving the majority of digital content consumption, leisure binge-watching has become a norm and, ZEE5 is leading the category in its debut year as India’s Most Desired Video Streaming Brand.
The award showcases ZEE5’s leadership position in content, reach, and distribution, as well as the enormous popularity of the variety of shows and movies available for viewing on the platform. It surpasses all the other OTT platforms who are the well-known veterans of the industry.
ZEE5 India CEO Tarun Katial said: “It is a very proud moment for us. A young start-up at heart and being in the business for over two years, we have managed to engage with India’s ever-growing appetite for entertainment and serve them with their favourite content in 14 Indian languages. We are extremely delighted and honored to be adjudged as India’s Most Desired Video Streaming brand by TRA. ZEE5 today has become ‘Super App’ of India with a depth of offering across content types, genres and languages that is hard to beat. We believe that with our unrelenting focus on producing quality content, building a robust distribution network and technology advancements, we will endure to entertain our audience and continue being the top streaming platform in India on any device at any time.”
TRA Research CEO N. Chandramouli said: “Desire is a longing for a brand irrespective of its need, and the success of a brand is highly dependent on the desire quotient it emanates. The brands which feature in this list have been able to exude a deep magnetic pull that impacts the consumer at a subliminal level. TRA’s syndicated research is based on our proprietary Brand Desire Matrix which measures consumers’ expressions of desire on 36 intangible attributes of a brand”. MDB 2020 lists 1000 brands across 326 Categories and 39 Super-Categories.
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.
