Micro dramas becoming major money spinners

Recently, Yash Raj Films (YRF) announced a strategic investment in Rusk Media, a digital entertainment company focused on creating original vertical storytelling intellectual properties (IPs) for Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences. The investment follows Rusk Media’s recent Rs 100 crore pre-Series C funding round led by Nazara Technologies, underlining growing investor confidence in the format.

“The instinct to evolve has always been central to YRF’s DNA. Platforms are infrastructure, content and IP are culture. Rusk Media has built a deep understanding of how the next generation discovers and inhabits stories, and that is exactly the kind of vision we want to invest in,” said Akshaye Widhani, CEO, Yash Raj Films.

Digital entertainment startup Kuku Technologies, the parent company of Kuku TV and Kuku FM, which releases more than 150 original micro-drama shows every month and has crossed 200 million downloads, recently filed for an IPO through the confidential route, seeking to raise up to Rs 3,500 crore through a mix of fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale, as per reports. The firm is reportedly targeting a valuation of up to Rs 15,000 crore with a listing expected sometime later this financial year, underscoring how quickly the category has evolved from an experiment into a serious business.

To accelerate content production and strengthen its AI capabilities, Kuku raised $85 million in Series C funding in 2025, led by Granite Asia with participation from Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, IFC, and Tribe Capital. Earlier this year, former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni invested in the company and joined as a brand ambassador for Kuku TV.

Kuku is not alone. Story TV, operated by entertainment startup Eloelo Group, is also expanding rapidly as competition intensifies. In May, the platform launched Story TV Dailies, a serialised storytelling format inspired by TV soaps but delivered through vertical videos with daily episode releases and no fixed ending. The company believes the new offering can tap into a potential audience of more than 500 million viewers, particularly traditional TV serial audiences who increasingly consume content on smartphones.

“We went from 1 micro drama a day in July 2025 to five a day (150+ a month today). In terms of overall growth, we have grown 10x month-on-month and would like to continue this momentum in 2026,” said Saurabh Pandey, founder & CEO, Story TV.

Overall, Story TV has built what it claims is India’s largest micro-drama catalogue, with more than 1,500 titles across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. It has crossed 10 crore (100 million) downloads.

Fight for Monthly Views

The list goes on. ShareChat-backed QuickTV recently announced an annual investment commitment of Rs 24 crore through its Moj Microdrama Challenge to support creators and expand production. “Users consume nearly 14 billion episodes every month, or approximately 750 million+ episodic plays daily. Several QuickTV originals have already crossed the 100-million-view mark, while titles such as Mere 3 Shehzaade and Ghar Wapsi have each surpassed 200 million views,” said Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder and CEO of ShareChat, Moj, and QuickTV.

New startups are continuing to enter the market. Flick TV raised $2.3 million in seed funding from Stellaris Venture Partners; ReelSaga secured $2.1 million from investors including Picus Capital and Nazara Technologies; while Bengaluru-based MiniPix raised Rs 2.4 crore in pre-seed funding to build regional-language vertical dramas.

Meanwhile, entertainment company GBM Studios has committed Rs 15 crore to create production infrastructure and talent development programmes for micro dramas. Founder Dharmesh Sangani said, “The changing landscape of content consumption has created a massive demand for fast-paced, emotionally engaging, and mobile-first storytelling.” The company aims to launch its own platform and achieve Rs 100 crore in turnover within three years.

Among established broadcasters, JioStar has emerged as one of the biggest believers in micro dramas. Instead of launching a separate application, the company integrated its micro-drama offering, Tadka, directly into JioHotstar, allowing viewers to switch seamlessly between long-form and short-form entertainment. Kevin Vaz, CEO, Entertainment, JioStar, said the platform attracted nearly 100 million viewers within weeks of launching in April. The company has already launched more than 100 original vertical series titles in partnership with over 50 production houses and plans to expand its catalogue to nearly 1,000 titles by the end of the year across Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

$4.5 Billion Future by 2030

Zee Entertainment this year approved an investment of up to Rs 100 crore in optionally convertible debentures of its subsidiary ZBullet Enterprises, which operates Bullet, a micro-drama platform. Bullet recently launched Trinetra AI, designed as an integrated filmmaking and content intelligence platform, to combine multiple AI capabilities with entertainment-specific audience insights to help creators evaluate, refine, and scale stories.

Azim Lalani, co-founder and chief business officer at Bullet, said “The future of entertainment will belong to those who can combine creativity with intelligence. Trinetra AI is our attempt to build that bridge. As micro dramas emerge as one of the most exciting content categories globally, our ambition is to build the operating layer that helps creators, studios and brands unlock this opportunity more effectively.”

Netflix has not fully entered micro drama format as it is still testing short-form video feature on mobile, while Amazon MX Player launched Fatafat in March this year, a dedicated micro drama service operating fully within its free, ad-supported interface for mobile-first audiences and designed for quick consumption.

Regional players, too, are in the fray. The Maran Group recently launched KadhaiShorts, Tamil Nadu’s first dedicated micro-drama platform. The service debuted with six Tamil originals and already has more than 100 projects in production. “We see micro dramas not as a passing trend but as the next major entertainment format built for mobile-only consumption,” said Karan Dayanidhi Maran, vice-chairman of Maran Group and founder of KadhaiShorts. The platform plans to expand into Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali while launching ten new vertical dramas every month. Alongside, the company also introduced KadhaiClub, a creator ecosystem with more than 12,000 members.

The momentum is being powered by a simple consumer shift. Unlike traditional OTT programming that requires dedicated viewing time, micro dramas are built for commutes, coffee breaks, and endless smartphone scrolling. As per the Ormax Media-Meta study, Micro Dramas: The India Story, viewers spend a median 3.5 hours per week watching micro dramas, with over 90% of viewing happening individually.

According to the Lumikai State of India Interactive Media Report, micro dramas grew into a $300-million category in CY25 and are projected to reach $4.5 billion by 2030, representing a 31% CAGR.

“Indian audiences are gravitating towards formats that are personalised, interactive, and built for the smartphone, and micro dramas are a natural outcome of that shift,” said Salone Sehgal, founder and managing partner, Lumikai, an interactive media and games VC fund, and one of the investors in Eloelo Group.

Funding trend suggests that investor conviction in India’s micro drama segment strengthened significantly over the past two years, with 2025 recording $30.9 million across five funding rounds, a 6x increase compared to $5.2 million witnessed in 2024.

“The rise in adoption is being driven by several structural factors like widespread smartphone usage, affordable data, and changing consumer preferences toward short form, vertical-format content that can be consumed during short breaks,” said Neha Singh, co-founder of market intelligence platform Tracxn.