On May 14th, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) convened a work deployment and promotion meeting for the "Mini-Drama High-Quality Creation and Dissemination Plan." He Biao, a member of the NRTA's Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director, attended and delivered a speech. The meeting introduced the "Implementation Plan for the 'Mini-Drama High-Quality Creation and Dissemination Plan'" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). It detailed various measures from the NRTA, 11 provincial-level radio and television authorities, and 6 online audiovisual platforms to support the creation and dissemination of outstanding mini-dramas, along with the target task of guiding the industry to produce 1,000 high-quality mini-dramas by 2026.
"This meeting sends a clear and strong signal that the mini-drama industry is transitioning comprehensively from a 'traffic-driven' model to a 'policy-guided' era of high-quality production. The introduction of this 'Plan' marks the official start of an industry-wide upgrade led by policy and involving multiple stakeholders," stated a representative from a short drama production company.
The "Plan" specifies the concrete goal for 2026: to guide the industry in producing 1,000 outstanding mini-dramas that successfully blend ideological depth with artistic merit, possessing both strong online appeal and aesthetic value.
At the content level, He Biao introduced the "Five Batches" project: to produce a batch of high-quality works that cultivate the spirit and promote mainstream values; a batch reflecting the new spirit of the times and celebrating the new creations of the people; a batch with distinct regional characteristics; a batch focusing on everyday life; and a batch aimed at the world, telling China's stories well. It is evident that policy encourages the industry to explore deeper themes such as realism and traditional culture.
Local governments are also actively participating in supporting mini-dramas. Currently, 11 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan, Guangxi, and Shaanxi, have allocated special support funds and introduced supporting policy measures covering scriptwriting, filming, production, and broadcasting to incentivize the creation of high-quality mini-dramas.
Platforms are also committing substantial funds to support live-action mini-drama creation. For instance, six key platforms—Hongguo Short Drama, Tencent Video, Mango TV, Migu, Kuaishou, and Dianzhong—have pledged a combined investment of at least 6 billion yuan to support the creation and dissemination of outstanding live-action mini-dramas.
In fact, competition among platforms to support live-action mini-dramas began earlier. At the inaugural Short Drama Industry Conference, ByteDance announced that its Hongguo Short Drama platform would prioritize innovative and positive, realistic themes, offering not only seed funding but also guaranteed minimum returns and higher revenue-sharing ratios, which is expected to significantly boost the creative enthusiasm of upstream producers. Tencent Video reiterated its "long-termism" strategy, committing to sustained strategic investment in the live-action mini-drama sector. Additionally, platforms like Mango TV, Migu, Kuaishou, and Dianzhong have also stated they will further increase their support.
"This collective increase in funding reflects the platforms' intense demand for high-quality content. Amidst the impact of technologies like AI, only premium content in live-action mini-dramas can truly solidify user value," said Yang Huaiyu, a senior researcher at Shanghai Xiazhiliangshi Consulting Management Co., Ltd.
Emphasizing the high-quality development of live-action mini-dramas is particularly crucial at present. With the explosion of AI technology, AI-generated mini-dramas, which have lower production barriers, have rapidly emerged. However, the homogenization issue in AI mini-dramas has led to a continuous decline in the industry's hit rate.
At the 13th China Internet Audio-Visual Conference in April, Yang Yingya, Deputy General Manager of Youku's AI Creative Production Department and Head of AI Short Drama, publicly stated that from January to the end of March this year, the platform had released over 14,000 AI-generated comic dramas, representing an explosion in production capacity, but the hit rate was less than 4%.
On the other hand, hit series are not rare in the live-action mini-drama market, achieved through IP serialization and the exploration of diverse themes.
Hua Yuesheng, Head of Content Cooperation at ByteDance's Short Drama Copyright Center, shared at the recent inaugural Short Drama Industry Conference: "Since the beginning of 2025, the supply of high-quality live-action mini-dramas has grown by over 40%, with approximately 500 high-quality new titles being added monthly. Concurrently, the density of hit series has increased. The number of live-action mini-dramas exceeding 1 billion views across the network has reached 1,100, and over 250 have surpassed 2 billion views. Hits are no longer occasional occurrences but a norm, indicating the industry has developed the capability for stable production of high-quality content."
The genre boundaries of short dramas continue to expand. Public data shows that live-action short drama categories have grown from 44 at the beginning of 2025 to 65 this year, adding 21 new sub-genres. New tracks such as suspense/mystery, workplace, and historical/period dramas have emerged in clusters, each producing well-received and commercially successful benchmarks. Regarding IP serialization, since 2025, the serialized development of live-action mini-dramas has become an industry consensus, with the viewing time share of series increasing from 6% to 15%.
"Live-action mini-dramas have the potential to become a new medium for showcasing the spirit of the times and disseminating traditional culture," Yang Huaiyu stated. With the implementation of the "Five Batches" project, mini-dramas will no longer be synonymous with vulgarity and sensationalism. Guided by policy and supported by ample funding, the live-action mini-drama industry is poised to move towards high-quality development.
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