As microdrama content explodes, ShareChat says the algorithm could determine what gets seen

As the volume of microdrama content rises, the recommendation engine that determines which stories users see could become as important as the content itself, according to ShareChat co-founder and CFO Manohar Singh Charan.

Charan said falling production costs and the use of artificial intelligence would lead to more stories being produced at greater speed. As the number of similar stories increases, he said, the algorithm will determine which ones get viewed.

“When there are too many similar stories to pick from, which story will get the most views is determined by the algorithm,” Charan said in an interview. “The company that controls the machine will have massive power.”


Charan said the cost of content production is coming down while production speed and volume are increasing, with story differentiation narrowing. He cited China, where he said microdrama content production had increased 10 times in the past year while studio-created content had declined.

He said content can be produced in about two weeks, with its success or failure determined in another week, allowing successful formats to be replicated quickly.

For ShareChat, this makes its recommendation system central to how microdrama is consumed on Quick TV, a dedicated microdrama streaming app and vertical video platform created by ShareChat and its short-video sister app Moj.

The platform serves short video and microdrama through the same feed, with the algorithm deciding what to show users based on their viewing behaviour.

Microdramas are short, serialised video stories designed for mobile phones, typically featuring episodes of less than two minutes that end on cliffhangers. The segment, which is just over a year old, has seen intense activity, with homegrown and international platforms vying for a share of the market.

Redseer estimates India's microdrama market will grow from Rs 2,300 crore in FY26 to Rs 23,500-25,500 crore by FY32. While subscriptions currently account for about 99% of revenue, advertising is expected to become a significant new monetisation channel, with ad revenue projected to rise from Rs 24 crore in FY26 to Rs 5,000-5,500 crore by FY32.

The shift to free, ad-supported viewing could expand the audience, with AVOD daily active users expected to reach 140-150 million by FY32.

About 25% of Moj users do not see any microdrama because the algorithm predicts they are not interested in it, Charan said. Among the remaining 75%, the algorithm correctly predicts microdrama interest about 75% of the time. When it gets the recommendation right, users can end up watching 90-95 episodes in a day.

“Our fundamental strength is that from a very high volume of content we can recommend what is good for each user,” Charan said.

Charan said ShareChat is now servicing about 100 crore microdrama episodes a day and generating 500 million ad impressions.

The scale also underpins ShareChat's advertising model. Charan said the company's advertising revenue from users is now significantly higher than the cloud cost of serving them.

“Even at the lowest possible ARPU, my advertising revenue is significantly higher than the cloud cost, which means every time now I service a user I make money,” he said.

From social media to microdrama
ShareChat started in 2015 as a regional-language content platform before moving into short video and then microdrama.

“When we started ShareChat on IIT Kanpur campus, the promise was we will become a regional language content consumption destination for Indian masses,” Charan said.

Microdrama, he said, is a “professionalised scripted version” of short video. The company's role is to recommend content from a large pool based on what individual users are likely to watch.

The economics of scale
Microdrama in India initially launched on a subscription model, but ShareChat introduced an ad-supported version within six months.

Charan said the company believed it could monetise through advertising because it already had a large distribution base, advertiser relationships, user-preference data and technology for targeting ads.

He said customer acquisition accounts for 80-90% of the total cost base for microdrama businesses. Moj can acquire a download for less than Rs 10, while a new microdrama app trying to scale may have to spend more than Rs 40, according to him.

Charan said average time spent on Moj is now about 47 minutes per user per day, after doubling over the previous year.

A growing advertising market
Charan estimated India's digital advertising market at about Rs 1 lakh crore.

He said that if microdrama eventually accounted for 10% of total digital time, a simple calculation would put the potential advertising opportunity at about Rs 10,000 crore.

Even if microdrama captured half of that share, he estimated the market at Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. He said this could represent a Rs 6,000-8,000 crore opportunity for ShareChat, whose “entire revenue size” he put at about Rs 1,000 crore.

Charan also cited China, where he said 60-65% of microdrama revenue currently comes from advertising. China has about 700 million monthly microdrama users, compared with just over 100 million in India, he said.

ShareChat is working with at least four large FMCG brands on branded stories. Under the model, brands sponsor the cost of producing a microdrama and then pay ShareChat for the views generated on its platform.

AI and the content flood
Charan said artificial intelligence would further accelerate microdrama production by lowering costs and increasing the speed and volume of content.

“The cost of content production is coming down, speed of content production is going up, volume of content is going up multiple times and the story differentiation is narrowing down,” he said.

As the number of stories competing for users' attention grows, Charan said the recommendation engine will become increasingly important.

“When there are too many similar stories to pick from, which story will get the most views is determined by the algorithm,” he said.

“The company that controls the machine will have massive power.”

From content to commerce
ShareChat also sees a potential link between microdrama and e-commerce.

Charan described a model in which users could see a product worn by an actor in a microdrama, save the product and later receive an opportunity to buy it through an e-commerce platform.

“That becomes content to commerce. That is an avenue which has not started in India, but it's a massive success in China so far,” he said.

Investors and the business model
Charan said investors remain cautious about the microdrama sector, particularly the subscription model.

“In the last one year, we have seen four different players claiming to be the number one microdrama subscription platform,” he said.

He said investors want to see whether these businesses can scale and remain profitable.

ShareChat, meanwhile, says its own business has been cash-flow positive for roughly 15-18 months.

“We have been cash flow positive for almost 18 months now, or at least the last 15 months,” Charan said.

He added that the company does not currently need to raise capital.

“If we come across demand from good quality investors, we will consider, but as of now, we do not need money per se,” he said.