From 90-second long stories of heartbreaks to full-blown reality content, India’s micro-drama platforms are aiming to become what Netflix is for streaming in India - a mainstream destination for digital entertainment on the go.
One such platform, Story TV, is now doubling down on non-fiction shows to capture prime-time viewing.
"On Over the Top (OTT) platforms, there is good diversity. There are slices of life dramas, thrillers, mystery, reality shows among others. Micro-dramas need to have more genres as well, apart from the billionaire-based dramas, and hidden identity stories," Saurabh Pandey, Founder and CEO, Story TV told Moneycontrol.
Micro-dramas are already becoming a mainstream choice for millions of viewers, and non-fiction shows could be the next big leap, he added.
"Our first reality show Sach Ya Kalesh is India’s first non-fiction reality micro-drama. It is hosted by India's favourite matchmaker Sima Taparia." The foray of micro-dramas into reality shows has brought TV 2.0 - vertical and relatable - right in the audience's hands.
"Reality can produce a lot of drama. All you have to do is create an interesting format. In the case of the show there will be 9 couples facing a lie detector test and the host determining whether their answers match with the lie detector test," said Saurabh Pandey.
Pandey pointed to Sensor Tower October 2025 data, which shows Story TV on third place globally - with over 12.5 million downloads - ahead of streaming giants like Netflix.
"Story TV in October was the third most downloaded entertainment app in the world. So, if we want to build a large brand, we need to differentiate on content and we feel that adding nonfiction, adding thrillers, adding newer categories, will help us build a unique brand for the younger audience," Saurabh Pandey added.
However, fiction shows will continue to be the mainstay. "More than 90 percent of the content will continue to be fiction. There might be a few opportunities to create interesting non-fiction shows, which we would want to dabble in because the idea is that we want to build TV for India. But the volume will be less for non-fiction shows. We won't be able to do high volume. We are currently at 300 in fiction shows and we aim to be at 1,000 shows," Story TV founder said.
India’s micro-drama market is now at the same inflection point that China hit 5-6 years ago, and is set to grow to $1.1 billion in the next five years, according to Bitkraft and Redseer’s 2025 report. India has over 700 million smartphone users and more than 800 million internet users, resulting in a 4G penetration of 90 percent, the report added.
India's micro drama market is expected to touch $125 million Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in FY26 from $9 million in FY25. Kuku TV - the market leader in India – has had over 100 million downloads.
The report also highlighted the key trends in the segment, including platforms seeking differentiation through India-focused originals, use of UPI AutoPay feature to drive stickiness, and AI-driven reduction in production costs.
"People are not consuming that much content in cinemas or on TV. A large part of content consumption is happening on mobile. And most of the consumers are consuming on the go. An average Story TV consumer is spending over 85 minutes on the app in a day, divided into a lot of sessions," Pandey said.
Story TV’s founder added that the growth in micro-drama viewing is a shift in entertainment viewing, and not a fad.
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