The National Radio and Television Administration recently issued a management advisory, calling for enhanced regulation of "CEO" micro-short dramas, reducing their quantity, improving their quality, and avoiding the use of "CEO" and similar words as attention-grabbing titles. Given that the "CEO" genre is the most popular in mainland China’s vertical short drama platforms, the "CEO restriction order" is set to impact the industry's development direction, garnering widespread attention from industry insiders. Hong Kong Wen Wei Po reporter recently interviewed several short drama practitioners, all of whom are seeking transformation. One producer believes this move compels the industry to self-reform, providing opportunities for short dramas to become more refined and cinematic. It is expected that horizontal short dramas will rise, leading to a market size of 150 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) next year, with red-themed and cultural tourism themes becoming the new trend. ● Hong Kong Wen Wei Po reporter He Dehua reports from Fujian
Vertical Production Not Conducive to "Going Global"
In Tang Chao's view, vertical short dramas have reached a bottleneck, not only limited by themes but also by a profit model primarily based on paid traffic, leading to over 90% production company loss rates. Currently, producing a vertical short drama costs only a few hundred thousand to one million yuan, but it generally requires two million yuan in recharge revenue to break even. Additionally, it is not conducive to the short drama industry "going global," "In some countries and regions with a very developed film and television industry, or even in Hong Kong, people are actually quite resistant to vertical screens."
Tang Chao believes the future industry trend will shift towards horizontal screens. Compared to vertical screens, horizontal short dramas will complete with traditional film and television production methods, "Vertical costs 400,000-500,000 yuan to make a short drama, while horizontal may cost 5 to 50 million yuan to produce one. This can change the entire production process." For example, hiring Hu Ge to play the male lead, inviting top international directors, and using vertical drama scripts for horizontal production, "You'll find its pace is particularly fast and pleasant, but it has depth in content, with improvements in costume, makeup, props, filming, and post-production, which can conquer the world."
Furthermore, horizontal short dramas may provide a turning point for traditional TV stations. "When people can connect their phones to the TV at home, blending the viewing experience of horizontal short dramas with TV stations, they will choose TV over phones, potentially offering new ideas and directions for traditional TV station transitions." According to the latest research by Cinda Securities, the micro-short drama industry market size has reached 35.86 billion yuan in 2023, with a growth rate of 234.5%. Tang Chao believes that, in fact, global bootleg box office also has hundreds of billions, so the actual market size may exceed 80 billion yuan. "Then, after the rise of horizontal short dramas, its range will be broader than vertical short dramas, theoretically not less than 80 billion yuan, so combining the two, next year's global short drama ticket revenue is expected to exceed 150 billion yuan."
"Short Drama+" Integrates with Various Fields
"This is just the short drama track, we should also see the huge potential of the 'Short Drama+' model, where short dramas can integrate with multiple fields, short drama + tourism, short drama + consumption, short drama + elderly care, short drama + capital... will form a market worth trillions." Tang Chao stated that the current 'Short Drama+' mode in the mainland is still in the initial stage, and the overseas development is even slower. He predicts that next year will be a year of outbreak for the short drama+ industry, a year for horizontal short dramas' outbreak, and a starting point for overseas horizontal short dramas.
"The overseas situation this year is very good, everyone dares to announce financial reports." Tang Chao believes that short dramas have a global attribute, and the overseas short drama market is an important growth point for horizontal short dramas. According to data, from November 2022 to October 2024, more than 100 short drama apps are active in the international market, with cumulative downloads reaching 287 million, and in-app purchase revenue reaching 490 million USD (3.547 billion yuan). Chinese Literature Online's overseas short drama platform ReelShort performed outstandingly, with revenue reaching 1.086 billion yuan in the first half of the year, and net profit reaching 22.93 million, both exceeding last year's full-year levels. "So from next year onwards, horizontal short dramas are the trend for the next ten years." He said.
Successful Overseas Cases
ReelShort
● August 2024 downloads reached 7 million, in-app purchase revenue reached 23 million USD.
● Became one of the popular apps in the overseas short drama field, quickly accumulating a large number of users in the overseas market and achieving high revenue.
DramaBox
● August 2024 downloads reached 10 million, in-app purchase revenue reached 23 million USD.
● Market share is continuously expanding, attracting a large number of loyal users, becoming an important player in the overseas short drama market.
"I Opened a Starbucks in Ancient Times"
● Reached over 100 million customers, gained over 30 million new fans, greatly enhancing brand influence and recognition.
● Directly brought in 1.35 million purchasers, boosting product sales.
● Successfully shaped a younger brand image that attracted more young consumers' attention and enhanced brand loyalty.
[Small Information] Vertical vs. Horizontal
Vertical screen dramas refer to short videos filmed and played in "vertical screen" format, with episodes typically lasting 3-5 minutes, not emphasizing the connection between episodes, and allowing users to immediately like and comment with strong interactivity.
Horizontal screen dramas use horizontal screen format for filming and playback, similar to TV broadcasts. Horizontal screen playback aligns more with people's habits for watching film and television content, providing a better viewing experience. The production level of horizontal short dramas usually matches that of long dramas, which means higher production quality and more meticulous production processes.