Chinese micro short dramas are rapidly growing, with the market size expected to surpass movie box office revenues this year. However, in the rush for traffic, issues of poor or vulgar content are difficult to resolve. Video platform Douyin removed 449 illegal micro short dramas in October and November.
The Douyin Security Center announced on the 11th that the platform removed 209 illegal micro short dramas in November. Earlier announcements showed that 240 were removed in October.
The announcement cited reasons for some micro short dramas being deemed illegal, such as “Surrounded by Beauties” promoting unhealthy views on marriage and poor values; “Revealing, I'm the World's Richest Dad” promoting materialism and showcasing an extravagant lifestyle; “Shocking the City, Mother-in-Law Sends Grandson to the Underworld” using bizarre plots to dramatize family conflicts and incite class divisions; “Rebirth of the Office Madman” having vulgar content and improper value orientation, etc.
According to the “China Micro Short Drama Industry Development White Paper (2024)” released by the China Network Audio-Visual Association in November, as of June 2024, the user base of Chinese micro short dramas has reached 576 million people, accounting for 52.4% of the total internet users.
The Beijing Youth Daily reported that with the continuous rise in popularity of micro short dramas, the market scale in 2024 is expected to exceed movie box office revenues for the first time. Industry organizations estimate that the Chinese micro short drama market size will reach 50.44 billion RMB (30.789 billion MYR) in 2024, an annual increase of 34.90%; while the total annual box office revenue for Chinese films is expected to be 47 billion RMB (28.69 billion MYR).
In a bid for traffic, many Chinese micro short dramas heavily replicate “dominant CEO” type romantic content, pushing the boundaries of limits, or resorting to bizarre plots to gain attention, often breaking common sense and norms.
The report stated that following notifications from broadcasting authorities, major Chinese video platforms such as iQiyi, Youku, Tencent, Douyin, Kuaishou, and WeChat have all announced that starting from June 1, unregistered micro short dramas will not be allowed to play on major video platforms.
Even with the implementation of the micro short drama registration system, many illegal micro short drama contents on Chinese platforms have still been taken down.