Microdrama, big impact? Streamers explore snackable formats to rival Reels, Shorts

With the declining attention span and consumers' stickiness towards social media platforms like Reels and YouTube Shorts, streaming platforms are currently focussing on some snackable formats.

Microdramas of 5-10 minutes are on their way to woo consumers, especially GenZ and Millennials hooked to 30-60 seconds of captive content produced by millions of creators across India.

Deepak Dhar, Founder and Group CEO of Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine, India’s two leading content powerhouses, told e4m, “We are currently working on powerful and captivating microdramas of 5-10 minutes length. Besides, the production of web-series of 3-5 episodes is also on the cards. We are discussing with streaming platforms the acquisition of such snackable content.”

Short web-series of 6-8 episodes have already made their way on OTT platforms. For instance, Amazon Prime Video recently rolled out a six-episode dark comedy series The Sticky inspired by the infamous Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist.

Zee5 has recently launched several web series such as Maeri, Paithani and Khoj, each with just 6 episodes. Most of their earlier popular original series have had 2-3 seasons with at least 10 episodes each. SonyLiv has also launched several original web series with 5-8 episodes each in 2024, including Chamak, 36 Day and a few others in regional languages.

A Zee5 official noted, “Not just us, the entire streaming industry is in experimentation mode at present and working on snackable formats based on consumer insights.”

Some regional platforms echo the sentiments. “We have started working on some new formats to make our content library more dynamic and appealing. A formal announcement in this regard is expected in February. We can’t speak much about it as of now,” said an official from Hoichoi, a Bangla OTT platform.

According to a Media Partners Asia report, India’s premium video-on-demand (VOD) category, driven by advertising and subscription, generated $1.04 billion (Rs 8,600 crore) in revenues over 1H 2024, up 38% from $760 million (Rs 6,500 crore) in 1H 2023. Local content accounted for 86% of premium VOD engagement in 1H 2024, stated the report. This is the space where new formats are being explored, industry insiders say.

Streamers abroad early adopters
Some industry experts say streamers in other parts of the world have already adopted the format. “In China, for instance, Kuaishou app played a significant role to popularise microdramas among younger audiences, followed by Douyin which is known internationally as TikTok,” quips Pep Figueiredo, COO - PTPL India, and a former SonyLIV executive.

In India, SonyLIV is considered as the pioneer of the snackable episodic series format where they provided their viewers micro-episodes of their iconic shows like The Kapil Sharma Show, Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma, and a few international shows.

“These 5-10 minute long episodes were launched primarily for mobile phone users who are in transit, to promote full episodes. This format could not gain pace, primarily due to its horizontal format and lack of sponsorship”, Figueiredo noted.

Microdramas in India would initially appeal to the youth and gradually trickle-down to more mature audiences. It would take a combination of innovative, data-driven, and platform-specific phasewise strategies to strike-gold with them, he noted.

Budget cuts and consolidation driving the trend?

While dwindling attention span of consumers is one the prime reasons behind such experimentation in formats, budget cuts in production is believed to be another reason prompting production houses to work on snackable formats.

India’s OTT market is estimated to be Rs 17,000 crore strong, including YouTube. OTT players, mainly the Indian ones, have had a challenging time over the last couple of years due to dwindling profits. Platforms have scaled down their content budget by almost half, from over Rs 5,500 crore in 2021 to about Rs 2,500 crore in 2024 to improve on their profitability, e4m earlier reported.

Moreover, the average number of platforms subscribed to by each paying user has dropped from 2.8 to 2.5 in 2024, reflecting a reduced appetite for subscribing to multiple services, according to the Ormax OTT Audience Report 2024.

However, a consolidation in the sector driven by MX Player’s acquisition by Amazon Prime Video, merger of HotStar and JioCinema and closure of Voot and a few others, is expected to boost the video consumption. Industry experts highlight, “Short-form content is not just becoming a preferred choice for audiences but also serves as a vital strategy for platforms to navigate the ongoing challenging times and maintain their relevance."