From soap operas to microdramas: TV’s old guard betson India’s short-video boom
As TV suffers a slow decline and audiences rush to dopamine-fuelled shortspan entertainment, makers of hit soap operas that dominated Indian entertainment are turning to microdramas and other short video and audio formats.
Kolkata-headquartered Magic Moments Motion Pictures—a regional powerhouse behind nearly 40 Bangla daily soaps, including Sreemoyee and its Hindi superhit remake Anupama—plans to launch a short-video storytelling app by February.
“People across India are gradually moving to digital viewing. While commuting or having a lunch break, people are binge-watching many short videos,” said Saibal Banerjee, director and owner of Magic Moments. “In a couple of years, the microdrama sector could reach an initial maturity. We would like to be part of the future of entertainment and keep up with audiences’ expectations. But daily soap operas continue to be our bread and butter.”
Magic Moments will begin with 4-minute vertical-format videos in Bangla for smartphone audiences, but plans to eventually offer a bouquet of video and audio originals in Hindi and other languages.
“Our initial focus in the microdrama space would be to make content in Bangla as there are few players in this language as of now,” Banerjee said. “Shows made in non-Hindi languages in India are also lower on production cost compared to shows made in Hindi.”
Gold rush
Microdramas, first popularised in China and South Korea, have now got Indian audiences hooked as well. Several media startups have launched apps streaming original stories in short, vertical videos rather than the traditional horizontal format.
Following the success of companies like Pocket FM and Kuku FM in the short video and audio space, legacy companies that made their money from TV are attempting to leverage the microdrama hype.
Balaji Telefilms Ltd, the producer of iconic soaps including Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, has gone all-in on the business of vertical videos and microdramas.
he Ekta Kapoor-helmed entertainment firm recently partnered with EloElo, a Bengaluru
based video platform, to create micro shows for smartphone audiences. Last week, it
started a YouTube-first show called Saas Bahu Aur Swaad, taking a leaf from digital-first content makers such as The Viral Fever (TVF) and Rusk Media.
Earlier, Balaji Telefilms rolled out Kutingg, a vertical-format video app, at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in May.
Similarly, Bengali production company Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF), which runs streaming platform Hoichoi, launched a microdrama app called Sooper late last year. This festive season, it posted 3-6 minute informative and comedy videos themed around Durga Pooja on its YouTube channel SVF Stories, which has more than 1 million subscribers.
These legacy production houses face stiff competition from startups, however. Social
media firm Sharechat launched QuickTV earlier this year, while some of its former
employees have launched a rival app named FlickTV, which has raised $2.3 million in seed funding from Stellaris Venture Partners and other investors. Chai Shots, a Telugu- anguage short-video app, has raised $5 million this year.
Balaji Telefilms and SVF didn’t immediately reply to Mint’s queries.
New audiences
Short-form video content consumption has taken over television viewing, according to a report released by Meta last month.
An India-focused study conducted by Paris-based research firm Ipsos on behalf of Meta found that 97% of the consumers surveyed watched short-form videos on any platform at least once a day, compared with 83% who watch television daily. Ipsos surveyed over 3,500 people across 33 markets in India for the study.
Consulting firm EY, in a recent report on India’s media and entertainment industry,
estimated that traditional TV subscriptions would fall from 160 million in 2024 to 148
million in 2027 and 138 million by 2030.
The global microdrama ecosystem generated $8.3 billion in 2024 from subscriptions,
advertising, and other avenues, according to a report by Media Partners Asia. This is
expected to increase by 46% to $12.1 billion this year, and expand at a 16.2% compound
annual growth rate over the next 5 years, according to the report.
The growth potential highlights why legacy TV companies are rushing to find new
audiences.
“Once a dedicated audience base is established, these production houses can start rolling out original short-video titles in vertical formats,” said Omkar Hinduja, senior analyst at Mumbai-based Anand Rathi Investment Banking. “With scale, this audience can later be monetised through advertising, brand partnerships, or platform collaborations.