Applause Entertainment bets on microdramas with Story TV tie-up amid shift to mobile-first viewing

Applause Entertainment, the Aditya Birla Group-backed content studio, is entering the emerging microdrama segment through an exclusive partnership with short-form platform Story TV, signalling a strategic push to tap into mobile-first content consumption.

The two companies will co-develop and distribute a slate of premium microdramas across genres, marking Applause’s first structured foray into the fast-growing category of ultra-short, vertical video storytelling.

Is short-form storytelling becoming the next big frontier for studios?

The move comes at a time when India’s digital video ecosystem is witnessing a shift in user behaviour, with audiences increasingly consuming content in shorter formats on smartphones. Industry executives say this has created an opportunity for professionally produced, episodic storytelling formats that sit between social media clips and long-form OTT shows.

As part of the agreement, Story TV will also acquire rights to the romantic thriller Hello Mini from Applause’s catalogue and adapt it into a vertical microdrama format, indicating a broader trend of repurposing existing intellectual property for newer consumption formats.

Applause, led by media veteran Sameer Nair, has built a strong portfolio of premium long-form content, including titles such as Scam 1992, Criminal Justice, and Rudra: The Edge of Darkness. Its entry into microdramas reflects an attempt to diversify format bets amid evolving consumption patterns and rising cost pressures in long-form production.

“New storytelling formats like microdramas are gaining momentum, and we see value in engaging with them through meaningful collaborations,” said Prasoon Garg, chief business officer, Applause Entertainment, adding that the company will continue to evaluate the format’s creative and commercial potential.

Can microdrama platforms scale beyond early adopters?

Founded in 2025, Story TV has scaled rapidly, positioning itself as a dedicated microdrama platform with a library of over 1,000 titles across Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The company claims to have crossed 50 million users within six months of launch and ranks among the most downloaded entertainment apps globally, according to Sensor Tower data.

Saurabh Pandey, founder and CEO of Story TV, said the platform is focused on combining storytelling with technology to build a “new-age TV” experience for mobile users. “Changing attention spans and mobile-first consumption are pushing the boundaries of storytelling formats,” he said.

Microdramas—typically comprising episodes of one to a few minutes—are gaining traction globally, driven by the rise of short-video platforms and increased smartphone penetration. In India, the format is still at a nascent stage, with a handful of specialised platforms attempting to build scale.

For Applause, the partnership offers a low-risk entry into the category while leveraging Story TV’s distribution and user base. For Story TV, aligning with a premium content studio could help improve production quality and expand its appeal beyond early adopters.

The development also reflects a broader trend of content studios experimenting with shorter formats to unlock new monetisation models, including advertising, subscriptions, and micro-payments, as the OTT market matures and growth slows.

While it remains to be seen whether microdramas can sustain long-term engagement beyond novelty value, the Applause–Story TV collaboration underscores growing industry interest in the format as the next frontier in digital entertainment.