Micro drama app Bullet, launched in July with an opening slate of 34 one-minute dramas in seven languages, joins a growing list of similar offerings by OTT players seeking to catch the attention of an impatient generation.
“With snacky content increasingly capturing audiences’ short attention span and keeping them engaged, the next wave of content consumption will encompass creators that nurture the ability to deliver intrigue and emotions in bite-sized formats,” said Azim Lalani, co-founder and chief business officer, Bullet.
Why Micro Dramas are a perfect fit
Unlike long-form OTT shows, micro dramas have an emotional punch and are created for mobile-first, emotionally charged, and time-starved audiences with each episode delivered in two to five minutes.
Major digital players are tapping this space to launch their micro drama apps. Sharechat launched Quick TV this year, while ALTBalaji recently launched its micro drama vertical Kutingg. Amazon-owned MX Player will soon launch MX Fatafat, and the upcoming JO vertical from Gujarati streaming platform Jojo is expected to see high user engagement.
Business of bite-sized content
TukTuki, another homegrown app launched in August, has a hyperlocal approach with original short-format drama content in Hindi, with plans to expand into Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati and other languages soon.
“With over 900 million internet users in India and a surge in mobile-first viewing, India’s appetite for high-quality, short-form drama is booming,” said Kushal Singhal, co-founder, Flick TV, an independent micro drama app, in a media statement, adding “China’s $7-billion micro drama market shows what’s possible, and India is on track for over a $5-billion opportunity in the next five years.”
With Amazon MiniTV and MX Player reaching 250 million monthly users, Amazon Fatafat is focused on delivering serialised snackable, one-to-two-minute episodes, with 70 to 80 episodes per series. “It is designed for today’s on-the-go viewer who seeks quick, impactful content during short breaks. We’re looking to build daily viewing habits through fast-paced storytelling across genres like romance, thrillers, and slice-of-life,” said Amogh Dusad, director & head of content, Amazon MX Player. Early audience testing has been promising, and the platform plans to scale this with stories that are short in length but high on emotion and engagement.
As per Manohar Singh Charan, co-founder and CFO, ShareChat & Moj, “Micro drama is an interesting new content format. In terms of numbers of users and volume of consumption, we are seeing a multi-fold proliferation of ad-supported formats as compared to the subscription model. Riding on the massive existing user base, Moj and ShareChat are popularising micro-drama across geographic and economic segments. In line with this growing consumer interest, we’re also seeing increasing curiosity from brands and marketers keen to explore how this format can help them engage more meaningfully with their audiences.”
ShareChat and Moj have adopted a dual monetisation approach—offering ad-free subscription-based experience through its new app, QuickTV, while simultaneously enabling free access to ad-supported micro-dramas at scale on Moj and ShareChat. With over 120 million daily episode views and nearly 30 million monthly consuming users, Moj and ShareChat are leading the micro drama wave, offering consumption volumes several times higher than any paid platform in India. For an ad-free experience, QuickTV has already ramped up to over 5 million downloads and is growing at a rapid pace.
In terms of monetisation, micro dramas can be disruptive with their short-term production cycles and lower budgets, along with strategic monetisation, bringing high returns for platforms. “While monetisation models will evolve over time, the scale-up is possible through a mix of advertising-based and subscription-based models,” said Karan Taurani, executive vice-president, Elara Capital.
For instance, Bullet app features a closed wallet with virtual tokens where users can collect coins as a fun way to unlock premium episodes, join exclusive fan clubs, and explore extra content. Coins can be purchased using UPI or in-app, or earned by checking in daily, referring friends, joining fan clubs or watching short ads. Offering refreshing content and blending speed with substance in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Malayalam, and Marathi, the app has partnered with Zee Entertainment (Z) to provide masala-paced plots and emotional punch, tailored for binge-watching.
Investors, too, are capitalising on the popularity of short, serialised video series. Flick TV raised $2.3 million in seed funding in June; ReelSaga secured $2.1 million in May; Digital content company Chai Bisket has raised $5 million in seed funding from Info Edge Ventures and General Catalyst to launch its micro drama app Chai Shots.
India is expected to be a major contributor to the segment with an estimated $10-12 billion by 2030. The growth is evident since India this year has become the largest market for Instagram Reels with 385.35 million users, far outpacing the United States (166.15 million) and Brazil (135.05 million) as the numbers reflect the country’s growing digital footprint.
Popularised in China and now gaining momentum in India in the last few months, a Redseer report estimates that this form of entertainment is riding on the trend of short video consumption and the format almost becoming a default media format for the young population, witnessing cumulative app downloads of over 50 million in India. As of May 2025, there are around 15 apps offering micro-drama, demonstrating the growing demand for the format.
From social media to OTT, and now micro dramas, the content creation ecosystem has seen innovation in the last few years. “This is much needed. India has a market for this kind of content. India has over 400 million Gen Z users as its market base for micro drama. They are experimental and trying out new things. If platforms are able to deliver this kind of content, then it’s a win-win for both,” added Taurani of Elara Capital.
Online video-sharing platform YouTube continues to dominate India’s online video market, capturing a staggering 92% of video consumption in 2024. The platform is working to integrate a new AI-powered creation tool into YouTube Shorts, the short-form section, which will assist the creators from curation of ideas and script to the post-production edits. “People are now watching more than 1 billion hours of YouTube on their TVs every day,” said Neal Mohan, CEO, YouTube, while speaking at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year, adding, “The rise of YouTube Shorts, which now garners over 70 billion daily views, signals a massive shift in how audiences—especially younger ones—engage with video.” In India, the company has committed to investing Rs 850 crore (over $100 million) to power the creator economy.
A Kantar survey says nearly one in four Indians use only mobile phones to consume entertainment and media content, ditching television. This is a significant shift in Indian media consumption, with 23% relying solely on mobile phones for entertainment in March quarter of 2025, up from 15% in 2023. Booming internet access, spurred by affordable smartphones and monthly mobile phone tariffs as low as $4, has made India among the largest digital consumer bases.
