Indians love low unit packs (LUPs) and sachets. And even if there is very little margin for retailers, and companies don’t make much money from them, it’s the quickest way to slink their way into a customer’s shopping basket. So depending on the category, LUPs now contribute more than 25% of many brands’ sales.
In a nutshell, that’s exactly how Kuku TV’s Rented Husband or Moj’s Happily Never After and every other microdrama found space in the video consumer’s playlist. Part reel, part serial, these short-form narratives, often clocking in at 60 to 120 seconds per episode, have forced large OTT platforms in India like Amazon MX Player and Zee Entertainment to experiment with the genre, and brands to circle in with ad hoc spends. But while advertisers are increasingly taking notice of Indian microdramas, they’re still largely viewed as experimental spends rather than mainstream advertisement inventory, says Rajat Agrawal, COO, Ultra Media & Entertainment Group. CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) remain at a steep discount compared to OTT video.
Microdrama series
As with any new format, they have an uphill task. First is the ad spending on the platform. Microdrama series command ad rates between 1,000 and 2,000 per 1,000 impressions (CPM). For their part, the traditional long-format web series, the ones you watch on OTT platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar, attract higher CPMs — generally between 2,000 and 4,000.
With ad money just a trickle, platforms are testing subscription models, micropayments, ad-supported formats, and product integrations.
“Subscription-based models play a strong role,” says Ultra’s Agrawal. “Some platforms charge users a small fee per episode, others integrate pre-roll ads, while product placements are gaining traction.”
Manohar Singh Charan, co-founder & CFO, ShareChat & Moj, points to Moj’s Glucon-D campaign, which generated 206 million views and 48,000 user-created videos with a 14.4% engagement rate.
Oversaturation and formula fatigue are real risks. “If every brand jumps on the trend with templated content, fatigue will set in fast,” says Ambika Sharma, founder, Pulp Strategy. Yasin Hamidani, director, Media Care Brand Solutions echoes the concern: “With every brand rushing into the space, the risk of sameness is high, and audiences may tune out.”
The sustainability question often circles back to audience behaviour. India’s 900 million internet users, most mobile-first, spend an average of 2.3 hours per day on video. Even a small diversion of that attention could create a multi-thousand-crore market. “India is at an inflection point,” says Nahush Gulawani, co-founder, Wit & Chai Group. “Just like memes became cultural currency, microdramas have the potential to move from trend to mainstream.”
The promise
Now look at the potential. According to ShareChat and Moj, more than 120 million microdrama episodes are watched daily across their platforms, with 20 million users already consuming this format. Moj alone records 6 billion video plays a day, with users spending over 30 minutes daily. “We’re currently witnessing how microdramas are reshaping India’s digital entertainment landscape,” says Sharechat’s Charan. “It is a fundamental shift in how India consumes stories.”
This shift is not limited to social-first players. Even Zee has launched a microdrama-only app, Bullet, within its Zee5 ecosystem, signalling how seriously mainstream OTTs are taking the format. Globally, the momentum is even clearer: Analysts anticipate the microdrama market surpassing $10·billion worldwide by 2030, with India positioned to capture roughly half of that opportunity.
Part of the format’s promise lies in how malleable it is. For creators, microdramas are a new language altogether. “Microdramas aren’t just bite-sized content, they’re a new language of storytelling,” says Gulawani. “Where a web series takes hours to build a character arc, a microdrama does it in seconds. It’s closer to writing poetry, or think of it as a Haiku more than prose.”
Naturally, optimism outweighs doubt. Says Anuj Gosalia, founder & CEO, Terribly Tiny Tales, “Like short films once found their place in cinema, microdramas are here to stay in the digital content economy.”
Creators are already dreaming big. Vivek Anchalia, founder & CEO, Amazing Indian Stories, says serialised arcs and superhero comedies are entering the space. Charan highlights Moj’s 50- to 100-episode arcs unfolding in 90-second bursts. Other experts predict gamified experiences, where viewers earn tokens for watching free content to unlock premium microdramas.