NDTV launches Micro to bring immersive storytelling to short-form news

MUMBAI: NDTV has launched NDTV Micro, a new short-form news format designed to tell complete, immersive stories within a few minutes without stripping away context or depth.

The format takes cues from the rise of micro-dramas, where complete narratives are built into short viewing windows. NDTV said Micro is not about simply compressing conventional television stories, but distilling them to their essential elements while retaining the context, texture and meaning of the subject.

NDTV CEO and editor-in-chief Rahul Kanwal said the shift in storytelling is not simply about shorter formats, but about how much information, emotion and meaning can be delivered within a limited viewing window.

“Micro-dramas have shown that a shorter format does not have to mean a smaller narrative. With NDTV Micro, we are bringing that thinking into journalism,” Kanwal said, adding that the aim is to refine stories while retaining the context and credibility expected from journalism.

NDTV has already begun experimenting with the format across history, conflict, major news events and visual explainers.

The network plans to expand NDTV Micro into a stream of original storytelling covering current affairs, geopolitics, defence, science, technology, culture and human experiences.

NDTV chief content officer Vinay Sarawagi said digital audiences are moving between formats, platforms and screens while continuing to seek strong storytelling.

“NDTV Micro meets that audience with a form that feels native to how they consume content today: immediate and concise, yet grounded in journalism and rich enough to inform, engage and immerse,” Sarawagi said.

The format is positioned between short clips, which can be immediate but fragmented, and long-form journalism, which allows greater room for exploration. NDTV said Micro aims to offer the speed of contemporary viewing habits while retaining enough narrative depth to give audiences a complete story.

NDTV managing editor Shiv Aroor said the format distinguishes between shortening a story and distilling it.

“Shortening is about taking things away. Distillation is about discovering what the story cannot do without,” Aroor said, describing NDTV Micro as an exercise in narrative precision.

The format is intended to give short-form journalism greater structure and substance, allowing NDTV to tell stories economically without making brevity come at the expense of meaning.

With NDTV Micro, the network is looking to extend its storytelling approach into a format built around the idea of delivering more substance within less viewing time.