Story TV Bets Big on Premium Vertical storytelling, Gets Yash Raj Films’ Manan Mehta To Build India’s OTT 2.0

As it accelerates its ambition to redefine the future of mainstream entertainment, Story TV, India’s leading microdrama platform, is making a significant investment in premium vertical storytelling. To spearhead this next phase, the company has appointed former Yash Raj Films seasoned hand Manan Mehta as SVP – Content and Strategy. The appointment marks Story TV’s push to bring mainstream creative talents, studio-scale storytelling and build premium IPs, into India’s rapidly growing vertical content ecosystem.

Manan Mehta brings over 20 years of experience across Business Strategy, Marketing and Content thought leadership, with experience across agencies and companies including Leo Burnett, Taproot, and Razorfish, followed by a significant 11+ years tenure at Yash Raj Films, one of India’s most premium film studios.

His appointment comes at a pivotal time for the entire vertical storytelling category. Globally, vertical storytelling content is emerging as one of the fastest-growing formats in digital entertainment, with the market projected to reach US$3 billion by 2030 in India. In India, Story TV has emerged as the category leader commanding a dominant market share with a rapidly growing audience base of over 100 million.

Welcoming Manan Mehta, Saurabh Pandey, Founder and CEO, Story TV, said: “We are entering what we see as OTT 2.0. The grammar of entertainment is changing, and vertical storytelling is emerging as one of its most powerful expressions. Our focus is to move microdramas from a niche to a full-fledged entertainment ecosystem. We are on a journey to build an ecosystem, where directors, writers, producers and top creative talent come together to define a new vertical-first language of storytelling that will scale both culturally and commercially.”

At Yash Raj Films, Manan Mehta worked closely with Aditya Chopra and played a key role in strengthening the studio’s brand and content marketing engine, helping position Yash Raj Films as one of India’s premium film studios. He led marketing and content strategy for over 26 films that collectively grossed Rs 5,200 crore approximately at the global box office.

“Manan joining Story TV strengthens our ambition to elevate vertical storytelling. His experience at Yash Raj Films brings studio-scale thinking and original storytelling which will go a long way into making micro dramas mainstream. His role will be key in bridging traditional storytelling with the new vertical-first world, deepening talent partnerships, and scaling premium Ips,” added Pandey

With Mehta joining the leadership team, Story TV is building a premium entertainment platform centred around marquee talent, high-quality storytelling and original intellectual property. In his new role, he will lead the company’s strategy to develop premium vertical storytelling franchises, forge partnerships with leading actors, filmmakers and studios and strengthen Story TV’s position as the destination for premium vertical storytelling.

“Micro Drama has already arrived but for premium vertical storytelling, there is no playbook that exists anywhere. And that’s exactly what excites me about this opportunity.” said Manan Mehta, SVP – Strategy and Content, Story TV. “Premium vertical storytelling is the next big shift in entertainment, and I’m thrilled to be part of building it with Saurabh and the entire team at Story TV.”

Since its launch in 2025, Story TV has rapidly emerged as India’s leading microdrama platform, pioneering a format that is reshaping mobile entertainment. With a growing library of original titles and a strong focus on audience engagement, the company is now entering a new chapter focused on raising creative benchmarks and expanding the reach of Indian vertical storytelling.