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Mumbai: India’s microdrama space, already drawing more than 100 million viewers, is set for disruption as large streaming players enter a segment long dominated by independents such as Kuku TV JioStar is preparing to launch Tadka on JioHotstar, with plans to offer around 1,000 micro shows spanning multiple genres and languages. Until recently, Zee Entertainment Enterprises was the only major broadcaster in this segment through Bullet, but competition has now intensified with Amazon MX Player’s Fatafat also entering the space.The market, currently estimated at $300 million, is projected to exceed $3 billion by 2030.Unlike traditional long-form shows, these are vertical, episodic stories lasting one to two minutes, designed for mobile-first audiences. The format has seen explosive global growth, particularly in China, and is now gaining traction in India as viewing habits fragment across the day.JioStar is planning to roll out Tadka on JioHotstar during the ongoing Indian Premier League, marking one of the most aggressive entries by a mainstream service into the category. The company plans to launch with more than 100 original titles, scaling up to over 1,000 within a year, underscoring the rapid industrialisation of short-form storytelling.Speaking on condition of anonymity, a JioStar executive said the move is driven by a fundamental shift in how audiences consume content. “Micro content presents a new paradigm of content consumption,” the executive said, adding that the service is catering to how customers want to consume content.The company is positioning Tadka as a distinct storytelling destination within the app rather than a feeder to long-form content. While the category has largely been built by startups using performance marketing-led distribution, JioStar is betting on its scale and an existing user base of 400 million to drive adoption.It is working with more than 50 production houses, including a new set of creators attuned to this storytelling style and audience. “It’s a very entrepreneurial production ecosystem that is being created,” the executive said.Ecommerce giant Amazon, which operates Prime Video and Amazon MX Player in India, is taking a broad view of the segment. It is already a key pillar of Amazon MX Player’s content strategy, with the launch of MX Fatafat, a microdrama service offering mobile-first, snackable storytelling.“I think we’re looking at the category broadly. It’s really interesting. It’s super exciting,” Prime Video VP-International Kelly Day had told ET during an earlier interaction.According to a recent report by Meta and Ormax, 65% of viewers discovered such content within the last year, while 89% find it through social feeds, underlining feed-led discovery and the rapid rise of this format among digital audiences.“Microdrama isn’t a passing trend—it’s rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment,” said Shweta Bajpai, director, Media & Entertainment (India), at Meta. “In under a year, an entirely new category of platforms has emerged, built audience habits from scratch, and created a business vertical that is scaling fast.”