The Chinese Communist Party has tightened control over micro-short dramas starting from September 1st, requiring all works to undergo approval before being broadcasted. This move has been suggested to stem from the fear of the free flow of information. According to reports, in the first half of this year, Douyin launched 221,900 AI dramas and animated dramas. However, based on industry reports using the standard of play count, only 1.3% achieved breakeven.
In recent years, the micro-short drama industry in China has seen explosive growth. Data from the “White Paper on the Development of the Chinese Micro-Short Drama Industry (2025)” compiled by the China Internet Audiovisual Association shows that the user base for micro-short dramas has reached 696 million, accounting for 63.3% of the total Internet users. The market size in 2025 is expected to reach 67.79 billion yuan, surpassing the total box office revenue of Chinese movies for the whole year.
On September 1st, the Chinese Communist Party officially implemented the “Regulations on the Development of Micro-Short Dramas,” requiring all micro-short dramas to undergo review before airing and be labeled with a publishing license number or program code. Works with higher investment or involving political, national security, and other special topics must undergo a higher level of scrutiny. Short dramas generated or produced using AI must also add identification markers in prominent positions in each episode.
Short dramas filmed within China and targeting overseas audiences are also subject to this review system. The National Radio and Television Administration of the Communist Party of China can, on the grounds of “public interest,” order modifications, suspension of broadcasts, or prohibit their distribution, promotion, and participation in international exchanges.
Public information shows that as early as February 2025, the Communist Party had issued new regulations implementing a “classification and hierarchical review” system targeting micro-short dramas, prohibiting online platforms from spreading, diverting, or pushing works that are not labeled with a license or record number.
Scholar He Chenghui told the Central News Agency that AI dramas are easy to watch and are particularly favored by specific age groups and ethnicities, therefore, they have high stickiness and can have a significant influence on specific demographics.
Commentator Tang Jingyuan previously mentioned to the Epoch Times regarding the Communist Party’s scrutiny of short dramas, stating that the enhanced control over short dramas is due to the fear of the free flow of information. Any widely popular media can potentially reflect content that authorities don’t want the public to understand. Even entertainment plots could convey social discontent through metaphors, touching on real issues.
Researcher Gong Xiangsheng from the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies stated that short dramas, due to their fast pace and wide reach, have become a new channel for influencing young audiences, which has put the authorities on high alert. Once “feel-good plots” are used to mock the government or express dissent, they may go beyond official control. As viewing habits of the younger generation change, the Communist Party’s control over this content format is likely to strengthen.
As the Communist Party intensifies its scrutiny of micro-short dramas, reports from data service providers indicate that the AI short drama industry in mainland China has fallen into a loss situation.
A report released in July this year by the digital marketing data service provider DataEye showed that there were a total of 221,900 AI dramas and animated dramas launched on the Douyin platform in the first half of the year. However, only 1,055 had a play count exceeding 100 million, accounting for about 0.48%. Animated dramas mainly refer to short dramas produced in the form of comics, animations, or AI-simulated human forms.
The report used a play count of 50 million as the breakeven baseline, with 2,886 works reaching this level, accounting for 1.3%, which means only 1 out of every 77 new dramas is profitable.
Vice President Lin Qiwen of DataEye Dramas stated that AI has reduced production costs by about 90%, but the cost of traffic has more than doubled year-on-year, leading to a decrease in work revenues by over 50%, causing creators to potentially incur losses even faster.
AI film and television industry practitioner Huang Chu Jie pointed out that after multiple subcontracting processes, some orders may not even cover the cost of computing power.
At the same time, the number of live-action short dramas has significantly decreased. According to a DataEye report, the number of new live-action dramas on the “Hongguo” short drama platform’s monthly list dropped from 432 in February to 110 in June.
Additionally, according to the Central News Agency, in the first quarter of this year, the number of new short dramas produced in Hengdian decreased by about 75% compared to the previous year.