MUMBAI: Pocket Entertainment is taking another short cut into short-form drama. The parent company of Pocket FM has launched Pocket Saga, barely two months after shutting down Pocket TV, its earlier microdrama experiment
The Bengaluru-based company is re-entering the category as short-form drama gains traction in India, with Pocket Saga appearing to build on the company’s existing Pocket Toons platform.
Pocket TV was shut down after the company concluded that the microdrama model faced challenges around retaining users beyond the initial acquisition phase. Pocket Entertainment chief executive Rohan Nayak had previously described the product as an experiment to test the category and said its economics were not as attractive as they appeared.
Nayak had also said the experience had helped the company uncover a potentially disruptive approach to the space, without revealing details at the time.
Pocket Saga now appears to be that next step. The platform is a revamped version of Pocket Toons, the AI-first comics platform launched in February 2025 alongside Blaze, an AI-powered studio aimed at helping creators produce comics more quickly.
At present, Pocket Saga primarily features animated short series, including anime-style content and AI-generated video adaptations of existing Pocket FM stories. It remains unclear whether Blaze is being used to produce the content on the new platform.
The platform offers stories across genres including fantasy, drama, romance, romantasy, supernatural, action, mystery and thriller. It claims to have thousands of bite-sized episodes, giving users a steady stream of short stories rather than traditional long-form viewing.
Its business model also mirrors Pocket FM’s micropayment approach. Users get an initial set of episodes for free, with additional episodes unlocked through virtual coins. New episodes are made available each day, while users can earn coins by watching advertisements and collecting rewards or purchase them directly.
The use of AI-generated video could also give Pocket Saga a cost advantage. Lower production expenses could help the company improve the economics of producing large volumes of short-form content, an important consideration in a category where platforms need a constant supply of new stories.
Pocket Entertainment’s renewed push comes as India’s microdrama market enters a more competitive phase. The market crossed $300 million in 2025 and is projected to reach $1.5 billion by the end of 2026 and $4.5 billion by 2030, according to industry estimates cited by Moneycontrol.
The opportunity has attracted both established entertainment companies and startups. Amazon, JioHotstar and ZEE5 have entered the segment, while players including Kuku, Eloelo’s Story TV, Dashverse and ShareChat’s Quick TV are also competing for audiences.
Flipkart is the latest major entrant. The e-commerce platform has partnered with Terribly Tiny Tales and Nexus Venture Partners-backed Pratilipi, among others, to produce microdramas exclusively for its platform.
For these companies, short drama is not simply about entertainment. The format offers a way to increase time spent on apps, build habitual engagement and create additional monetisation opportunities.
Pocket Saga therefore marks a quick return rather than a retreat for Pocket Entertainment. Having tested the microdrama waters with Pocket TV, the company is back with a model that puts animation, AI and its existing story library at the centre of the next experiment.
