Daybreak When cricket and Koffee aren’t enough, JioHotstar wants to make 'Sparks' fly
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Apr 17, 2025 Rounak Kumar Gunjan, a reporter at The Ken, discusses JioHotstar's bold move with Sparks, a new platform targeting Gen Z with short, creator-led videos. He explores the shift from traditional content to bite-sized episodes and the strategic choices made, like removing comment sections to foster a different kind of engagement. The conversation dives into the rise of micro dramas and the challenges of keeping creators connected in a fast-changing media landscape, showcasing an innovative approach to audience interaction.
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JioHotstar's Content Differentiation
- JioHotstar Sparks focuses solely on professionally produced content, unlike YouTube and Instagram's user-generated content.
- This decision impacts production costs, content supply, and interaction features they choose to exclude, like comments.
Micro Dramas Boost Engagement
- Micro dramas in short episodic formats maintain continuity, making them more addictive than random short videos.
- This format fits falling attention spans and has driven short-form video popularity, especially in China.
Why Sparks Avoids Comments
- JioHotstar experimented with comments during IPL but results were poor, leading to the decision to exclude comments on Sparks.
- Comments require costly moderation to avoid hateful content, which Sparks chooses to avoid.