iWorld
ZEE5 live streams Calcutta Football League matches
Mumbai: ZEE5 has announced its partnership with the Calcutta Football League, a historic football competition in West Bengal organised by the Indian Football Association. As a part of the partnership, the fans can now stream all the top matches live on ZEE5. This collaboration aims to captivate audiences, especially the fervent supporters of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, given their immense passion for the sport.
Kicked off on the 27 June, The Calcutta Football League will continue till the 30 September with ZEE5 featuring 26 teams divided in two groups of 13 teams playing a total of 199 matches. The tournament includes iconic teams such as Mohun Bagan SG, East Bengal FC, Mohammedan Sporting Club, and Diamond Harbour FC, amongst others. To cater to a diverse array of audiences, the matches would be streamed both in Bangla and English commentary, ensuring that fans can enjoy routing for their preferred team in their language of choice. Additionally, ZEE5 will offer video-on-demand (VOD) content, highlighting the best goals and key moments from the matches for fans to get up to speed with the league at their convenience even if they miss a few matches.
ZEE5 India chief business officer Manish Kalra stated, “We are delighted to partner with the Calcutta Football League to bring our audience an immersive football streaming experience. This partnership not only highlights ZEE5’s commitment to delivering high-quality sports content but also celebrates the rich football culture of Bengal. It exemplifies our dedication to pushing boundaries and ensuring a comprehensive viewing experience for our viewers.”
Indian Football Association secretary Anirban Dutta said, “We are thrilled that this deal has come to fruition, as it marks the first time the Calcutta Football League will be broadcasted on a major platform like ZEE5. This is a significant step forward for the league and its fans.”
Last year, c partnered with Big Bang Media to bring one of the biggest esports tournaments, IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023. The tournament had over 80,000 participants from across 40 countries in Asia and the Middle East. Following the big success of The DP World International League T20 Season 2, ZEE5 is also set to air the third season of ILT20 starting on 11 January 2025, featuring 34 matches culminating in the final on 9 February 2025.
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.
