A twist in the streaming tale

Microdramas Are Drawing Viewers, But Are Advertisers Keeping Pace?

- GEETIKA SRIVASTAVA

INDIANS LOVE LOW unit packs (LUPs) and sachets. And even if there is very little margin for retailers, and companies don't make much money from them, it's the quickest way to slink their way into a customer's shopping basket. So depending on the category, LUPs now contribute more than 25% of many brands' sales.

In a nutshell, that's exactly how Kuku TV's Rented Husband or Moj's Happily Never After and every other microdrama found space in the video consumer's playlist. Part reel, part serial, these short-form narratives, often clocking in at 60 to 120 seconds per episode, have forced large OTT platforms in India like Amazon MX Player and Zee Entertainment to experiment with the genre, and brands to circle in with ad hoc spends. But while advertisers are increasingly taking notice of Indian microdramas, they're still largely viewed as experimental spends rather than mainstream advertisement inventory, says Rajat Agrawal, COO, Ultra Media & Entertainment Group. CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) remain at a steep discount compared to OTT video.