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The large story
Recent affable overtures aside, India does not ever spot oculus to oculus with China. But erstwhile it comes to the conflict for eyeballs, the country's amusement manufacture has taken a leafage retired of the Chinese playbook.
Micro-dramas, oregon 90 seconds to two-minute videos, loaded with hooks and chaotic plots, surpassed container bureau collections successful China past year, gathering a adjacent $7 billion industry, and that inclination has made its mode into India.
This won't beryllium the archetypal clip a Chinese contented format has gained traction successful its neighboring country.
ByteDance's TikTok had seen soaring popularity successful India, with millions successful the state hooked to its short-video format, earlier the app was banned successful 2020. Within weeks of the ban, Meta's Instagram launched Reels successful India and is present a starring level for user-generated, short-format contented successful the country.
As fashionable Chinese apps are inactive banned successful India, streaming platforms, section accumulation houses and short-video apps backed by backstage equity and task superior firms presumption micro dramas arsenic the adjacent question of contented that drives idiosyncratic engagement.
They are pulling up their socks and investing successful gathering bite-sized serialized contented libraries, not to beryllium near down successful the contention to maestro this caller video format.
Television unit moving successful a studio
Dpmike | E+ | Getty Images
Take Bengaluru-based ShareChat, whose founders launched short-video level Moj for determination contented aft TikTok was banned. Between ShareChat and Moj they person 200 million-plus users, Manohar Charan, co-founder and main fiscal serviceman astatine ShareChat, told CNBC. Instagram had implicit 480 million Indian users arsenic of October 2025, according to Statista.
Five months ago, ShareChat doubled down connected the micro-drama abstraction and launched QuickTV. Unlike Moj, which offers user-generated contented and ad-supported micro-dramas, QuickTV publishes videos from nonrecreational accumulation houses and comes with a subscription model.
"We person 40 cardinal users watching micro-drama contented per month," Charan told CNBC.
Indian micro-dramas are estimated to beryllium the fastest-growing conception successful the country's $2.4 cardinal gaming and interactive media sector, according to a study by marketplace probe institution Redseer and task superior steadfast Bitkraft. The assemblage is expected to turn to $7.8 cardinal by 2030, with the nascent micro-drama abstraction estimated to go a billion-dollar manufacture implicit the adjacent 5 years.
"This format [micro-dramas] is designed for today's fast-scrolling, snackable moments, portion unlocking opportunities for a caller question of creators crossed India's vibrant originative ecosystem," Amogh Dusad, manager and caput of contented astatine Amazon MX Player, said successful a station on LinkedIn earlier this year.
To capitalize connected the micro-drama opportunity, implicit the past six months, Amazon MX has launched Fatafat, Indian bequest media Zee Entertainment has invested successful Bullet app, streaming level Hoichoi has rolled retired Sooper. There are besides PE- and VC-funded apps specified arsenic Kuku TV and Story TV, each competing for eyeballs and wallet share.
Fueled by smartphones
India's immense smartphone idiosyncratic basal has helped catalyze the micro-drama maturation successful the country.
There are astir 750 cardinal to 800 cardinal smartphone users successful India, 2nd lone to China, Navkendar Singh, subordinate vice president astatine International Data Corporation, told CNBC's "Inside India" connected Tuesday.
"Television has go a secondary surface successful India portion phones are the superior surface for most," said erstwhile tv writer Sambbhav Khetarpal, besides contented caput astatine micro-drama level Sooper.
He says the alteration has been successful the making for a fewer years arsenic radical progressively devour contented connected smartphones alternatively than TVs.
The earliest micro-dramas successful India — discounting user-generated contented — started with the dubbing of Chinese shows successful section languages astir a twelvemonth ago, which past progressed to Indian adaptation of those storylines.
"The transcript contented from Chinese play is conscionable archetypal teething problems of the industry," said Anuj Tandon, spouse astatine Bitkraft — an capitalist successful KukuTV.
Though adjacent generic plots are resulting successful subscriptions and app downloads, mostly from tiny towns successful India, experts said with the travel of caller investments and rising competition, platforms and accumulation houses are looking for differentiated content.
It would go "hard to prolong a level with copycat content," Khetarpal told CNBC, lone "good tech and bully contented volition survive."
There indispensable beryllium a hook each infinitesimal oregon the assemblage "will conscionable scroll away," said tv actor-turned-micro-drama shaper Karanvir Bohra.
The wealth question
Currently, astir Indian micro-drama platforms are earning from subscriptions, and that is affirmative alteration from the earlier "cash pain models of contented platforms," said Siddharth Jhawar, wide manager India astatine adtech steadfast Moloco.
However, erstwhile the idiosyncratic basal of these apps touches 10 cardinal to 15 million, they volition person to see a premix of advertisement revenues arsenic subscriptions volition plateau, helium added. Some successful the industry, specified arsenic QuickTV's Charan, accidental that advertizing is simply a amended way to marque shows accessible to a wider audience.
About 70%-80% of the subscription gross goes toward selling the contented connected Instagram and Facebook for idiosyncratic acquisition, the remainder gets divided betwixt the accumulation and the organisation platform.
By owning a room of titles, a level tin support the idiosyncratic engaged for longer connected a micro-drama platforms, overmuch similar however Instagram does with user-generator content, experts said, allowing it to boost net done ads.
A short-video level with high-content measurement works good for advertisements, said Jhawar of Moloco, adding that the strategy has helped TikTok and Reels bash good successful presumption of advertisements.
"It is easier to enactment ads aft each 3-4 videos, than it is to enactment ads successful the mediate of agelong signifier content," helium said.
To gully assemblage distant from Instagram's user-generated content, micro-dramas volition request much contented volumes. A imaginable menace that is not mislaid connected Meta, which successful September launched its ain micro-drama bid titled "Party for Two." The bid aims to "inspire Gen Z to instrumentality creative risks," Meta said successful a statement.
Given these shows are being produced for little than $3,000 per bid and a ample endowment basal — Bollywood, TV, streaming platforms — India could spot an detonation of content, experts said.
"There volition beryllium a contented accumulation roar successful this abstraction for the 3-4 years," said Anurag Shukla, who has written a mates of micro-dramas successful caller months.
Predictions aside, I americium waiting for my Chinese friends to urge a amusement successful Mandarin that turns retired to beryllium a transcript of an Indian micro-drama. Seems similar a bully benchmark to gauge Indian platforms' show successful this sector?
Top TV picks connected CNBC
Navkendar Singh, subordinate vice president of IDC India, expects Apple's India income to turn by different 10% to 15% annually implicit the adjacent 4 to 5 years.
Ravi Jakhar, radical main fiscal serviceman astatine Allcargo Group, said that planetary commercialized has been "extremely muted" pursuing U.S. tariffs, contempt this typically being a beardown season.
Pranjul Bhandari, main India economist and strategist, astatine HSBC, said the steadfast expects India's GDP to turn astir 7%-7.5% implicit the adjacent 2 quarters.
Need to know
Goods commercialized shortage successful October shatters records. India's goods commercialized shortage deed an all-time precocious of $41.7 cardinal successful October arsenic gold imports surged connected festive play demand, portion exports to U.S. bore the brunt of steep tariffs.
India deepens vigor commercialized with U.S. The state is ramping up its vigor imports from the U.S. successful a bid to trim its commercialized surplus with Washington — a cardinal request of the Trump medication during commercialized negotiations with New Delhi.
Capital marketplace manufacture seeks overhaul successful taxes. The manufacture has enactment forward a lawsuit for a broad taxation overhaul arsenic Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met marketplace representatives successful New Delhi for discussions earlier the national budget.
Quote of the week
I americium optimistic that immoderate benignant of a woody volition beryllium reached betwixt India and the U.S. ... India intelligibly would similar for its labour intensive exports, and adjacent otherwise, to beryllium successful the wide set of its ASEAN peers.
In the markets
The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex were some up astir 0.5% connected Thursday, with their respective gains truthful acold this twelvemonth astatine 11% and astir 10%.
The benchmark 10-year Indian authorities enslaved output ticked somewhat higher and was past astatine 6.543%.
— Nur Hikmah Md Ali
Coming up
Nov. 21: HSBC flash PMI for November; Sudeep Pharma IPO
Nov. 21-23: PM Narendra Modi to be G20 acme successful South Africa
Each weekday, CNBC's "Inside India" quality amusement gives you quality and marketplace commentary connected the emerging powerhouse businesses, and the radical down its rise. Livestream the amusement connected YouTube and drawback highlights here.
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