Story TV bets big on South India with 1,000 original microdramas

Story TV, the microdrama platform from Eloelo Group, on Thursday announced a full-scale expansion into South India, marking its largest regional content investment to date. The move will be anchored by original vertical series in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

The expansion is driven by the platform’s belief that regional storytelling will fuel the next phase of growth in India’s mobile entertainment ecosystem. It also underscores the view that premium vertical storytelling can reach its full potential only through original stories created in native languages.

South India, home to some of the country’s most influential film industries and highly engaged digital audiences, represents a key growth market for the company.

As part of the expansion, Story TV has committed to producing more than 1,000 original South Indian microdramas by March 2027. The company will collaborate with writers, filmmakers, actors and creative talent across southern states to build original intellectual property in local languages.

The Tamil slate includes a line-up of established creative professionals such as director Alagar (Saravanan Meenatchi), cinematographer Laxman Kumar (Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu), Mahanathi Shankar (Dheena), Kumaran Thangarajan (Pandian Stores, Kumarasambavam), Jey Srinivas (Varisu), Ramji (Ramany vs Ramani), along with actors Preetha Jenarthanan and Yuhani Shree.

The Telugu slate features director Ajju (One Last Ride) and Nandi Award-winning cinematographer Om Prakash, along with actors including Charan Lakkaraju (Temporary Roommates), Raj (Bigg Boss Telugu), Anvitha (Devayani), Visalakshi (Lakshmi Nivasam), Raksha (Guppedantha Manasu), Rohith (Abhishekam) and Monika (Padmavathi Kalyanam).

The platform said demand momentum is already visible, with Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kochi emerging among its top consumption markets. Users across southern states spend an average of 95 minutes daily on the platform.

“Entertainment has moved to the mobile screen, and viewing habits have moved with it. Audiences today want stories they can binge instantly and see themselves in their language, their culture, their world. Microdrama answers both. It is the most exciting format in Indian storytelling right now. The format has opened up opportunities for the entire creative talent community to tell richer and diverse local stories,” said GSN Aditya, Chief Operating Officer, Story TV.

“South India is central to that vision. It is home to some of India’s strongest storytelling traditions and most passionate audiences. Our focus is to build a local creative talent community, invest in original stories across languages, and raise the quality of premium vertical storytelling together. What we create here will not only strengthen our leadership in the region but also become the blueprint for how we take this category to other regions across the country,” he added.

Story TV said its initial southern slate has already crossed 250 million views. Among its most-watched titles are Vaarasudu Vacchadu, Paper Wife Bathiladi, VIP Card, Billionaire Maid and Srimanthudu.

The expanded slate will span genres including romance, family drama, thriller, revenge and comedy, with Kannada and Malayalam originals set to roll out as the catalogue grows.