It is hard to miss microdramas these days. Many of us might come across them during a suburban rail commute or while taking an escalator. We might even occasionally get ourselves hooked on these cheesy stories. These 60-120 seconds short-form stories are structurally similar to reels or shorts on social media platforms. They have emerged as the next big thing in the entertainment industry, holding an estimated market size of $70 million to $120 million. The segment is witnessing a surge, with estimates pegging annual growth at more than 50% to 70%. The overall market is projected to cross the $1.1 billion mark by 2030.This surge in consumption has attracted major legacy players in recent months, including Netflix, JioHotstar, Sun TV Network, Zee Entertainment and KadhaiShorts, the first venture from the family of former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran, competing with the Sun Network. The new entrants intensify competition for dedicated microdrama platforms, challenging Indian incumbents like Kuku TV and Quick TV, as well as global apps like DramaBox and ReelShort.Sabarish Venkat, chief executive of KadhaiShorts, notes that the adoption reflects a broader shift in consumption behaviour driven by short-form videos on social media. “This has made audiences consume content faster, constantly switching contexts and emotions. The storytelling is designed around creating an immediate emotional response and then giving you a reason to watch the next episode.” India is entering an interesting phase due to mobile penetration, affordability and consumer behaviour, he added.The content on dedicated microdrama platforms can sometimes lean heavily on familiar tropes like hidden identities, family disputes and melodrama, with internationally dubbed shows performing particularly well. In contrast, traditional OTT platforms are actively re-editing and reformatting their hit movie and TV show libraries. Sun NXT Shorts, Netflix Clips and Jio’s Tadka have all integrated this feature in recent months, with eventual plans to produce originals. These legacy platforms are leveraging their vast content libraries and massive distribution scale to gain an edge.Rakesh CK, head of Sun NXT, explained that the core difference lies in the viewer’s intent rather than just the format. “A viewer opening a long-form show has usually set aside time for its appointment viewing. A viewer opening a micro-drama often has not decided to watch something at all; they are filling a gap such as a commute, a break between tasks,” he said. “There is also a second, distinct moment we are building for: indecision. That ‘what do I even watch’ scroll or choice fatigue across long-form libraries is real, especially on a shared screen like the TV. A micro-drama becomes the easy, low-commitment answer while deciding on something longer,” he added.While Hindi has historically accounted for the majority of Kuku TV’s originals, the mix is moving towards an almost equal split between Hindi and regional languages, particularly Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, according to Sachin Singh, head of Kuku TV. Kuku TV launched Tamil content last year and is now experimenting with reality shows, biographies and global expansion.On competition, Singh noted that, “While new players are entering the category, we believe we have several advantages, which include billions of consumption signals across eight years, a proprietary AI storytelling stack, machine learning-based personalisation and recommendation systems. A Tamil show, for instance, is conceptualised by Tamil creators, produced by local production houses in TN and marketed by regional teams,” he said.Entertainment industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai pointed out that while the microdrama industry is still in its infancy, the Tamil entertainment landscape boasts a long history of audience engagement with serialised television. “Microdramas have low production costs, which are still coming down with AI adoption. That means a small group of individuals with a skeletal budget can compete with larger players and content will matter the most,” he said.According to a Redseer report, the production costs for a 100-episode microdrama series are currently estimated at around 15 lakh to 20 lakh. This figure is expected to drop to 5 lakh to 6 lakh over the next three to four years as generative AI is further adopted.Currently, India’s microdrama market monetises through three primary models: subscriptions, episodic in-app purchases and ad-supported viewing. The ad-supported microdrama segment is projected to balloon into a 5,000-crore market over the next five years, per industry estimates.
