The macro view on micro dramas

If you cross a gripping web series with reels on Insta- gram, you get micro dramas.

- VANITA KOHLI-KHANDEKAR

These fiction shows, made up of twoto three-minute episodes, are the latest programming trend across the world.

Each of the 30-50 episodes in a season ends on a cliffhanger - a murder, a marriage, a deception or redemption - among the scores of other emotions that could titillate you enough to move to the next one, and then the next. This constant emotional titillation is the only way to avoid being swiped away by viewers faced with a deluge of options to pass their time online.

A Media Partners Asia report estimates that micro-dramas generated $8 billion in global revenues in 2024. And China, where they first originated about a decade back, remains the centre of action. It is the biggest micro-drama market in the world with over $7 billion in advertising and pay revenues. More than 830 million Chinese viewers consume multiple shows such as Rainkissed Fate or This Killer is a Bit Cute on ByteDance (Red Fruit), Tencent (WeChat Video Accounts), and Kuaishou (Xi Fan). By the end of this year, microdramas will overtake the domestic boxoffice in China, says the Media Partners Asia report. The United States at $819 million in revenues is the other major consumer.

Micro-dramas have taken off in India. Earlier this year, half a dozen players like Flick TV, Reel Saga, Chai Shots raised anywhere from $2 to $5 million (₹17-₹45 crore) to build a business around it.