Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - China\u2019s entertainment industry is\nundergoing massive disruption from the emergence of AI-based\nmicro-dramas.<\/p>\n
Micro-dramas or short Chinese dramas (dracin) are a super-short\nviewing format that combines TV series style with social media scrolling\nexperiences.<\/p>\n
Micro-dramas are extremely short, usually 1-5 minutes per episode,\nwith many episodes (often 30 to 100). The stories are created quickly,\nfull of conflict, cliffhangers, and twists to keep viewers watching the\nnext episode.<\/p>\n
One example is the animated series \u201cOrange Cat Taoist Priest:\nFighting the Zombie King\u201d, featuring a tabby cat in a robe battling\nzombies in two-minute episodes.<\/p>\n
Although it sounds niche, this format has gone viral and attracted\nhundreds of thousands of viewers. However, behind its popularity, signs\nare emerging that this trend is facing serious challenges, both from a\nregulatory perspective and business sustainability.<\/p>\n
AI Micro-Dramas Shake Up the Entertainment Industry<\/p>\n
The micro-drama phenomenon has changed the way Chinese society\nconsumes entertainment. In January, time spent watching long dramas fell\nby up to 15% year-on-year.<\/p>\n
Conversely, micro-drama platforms like Red Fruit (owned by ByteDance)\nrecorded a surge in viewing time of more than double.<\/p>\n
The key to this explosion lies in cost efficiency. With AI technology\nassistance, production costs can be reduced by up to 90%. Even\nlive-action productions, which were already cost-saving, are now losing\ncompetitiveness.<\/p>\n
In some regions, live-action micro-drama production has reportedly\nplummeted by up to 80%, while actors\u2019 fees have been cut in half. Yet,\nthese actors\u2019 fees were already low to begin with.<\/p>\n
This situation shows that AI has become a structural changer in the\nindustry. Content production no longer relies on big studios or\nprofessional actors, but can be done with much cheaper and faster\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
This short dracin phenomenon is also popular in Southeast Asia as\ndigital content consumption patterns shift. These short dramas are often\ntermed \u2018dracin\u2019 (Chinese drama), as most originate from the Land of the\nBamboo Curtain.<\/p>\n
The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report released by Google, Temasek, and Bain\n& Company shows a significant surge in short drama app downloads\nthroughout the first half of 2025.<\/p>\n
According to the report, the contribution of short drama apps to\ntotal video-on-demand (VOD) platform downloads rose sharply by 56% in\n2025, from 31% in the first half of 2024. Short drama app download\nfigures grew 120% year-on-year (YoY).<\/p>\n
From the active user side, short drama apps also showed rapid growth.\nThe share of active users for these apps rose from 5% to 17%, or a 200%\nYoY surge.<\/p>\n
Regulations and Competition Become New Challenges<\/p>\n
Although growing rapidly, AI micro-dramas are starting to face\nvarious obstacles. Since 1 April, regulators in China have required all\nanimated series without permits to be removed from digital\nplatforms.<\/p>\n
New content must also go through an approval process before release.\nThis is a signal that the government is beginning to closely monitor the\ngrowth of AI-based content.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, an overly crowded market is also a problem. The\nmassive production of AI micro-dramas has made competition increasingly\nfierce, so many contents fail to attract enough viewers to generate\nprofits.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the extremely short format makes it difficult for\nviewers to build emotional attachment to characters. Thus, audience\nloyalty does not form.<\/p>\n
In response to this situation, Chinese tech giants are seeking\nbalance.<\/p>\n
Alibaba, for example, released a new season of the long animated\nseries \u201cThe Demon Hunter\u201d, which already has more than 10 million\nfollowers.<\/p>\n
This shows that amid the dominance of short content, long-duration\ndramas still have a chance to survive in the battle for viewer\nattention.<\/p>\n
Sought After But Feared<\/p>\n
Revenue from China\u2019s micro-drama industry is projected to nearly\ndouble in 2025 to 90 billion yuan (US$12.7 billion)\u2014surpassing cinema\nticket sales. Studios in China produced 40,000 micro-drama titles in the\nfirst eight months of 2025 (one series typically has 90 episodes).<\/p>\n
The micro-drama fever is just one example of the ongoing explosion of\ncreativity in China. In early 2025, \u201cNe Zha 2\u201d, a production from a\nChinese studio, became the highest-grossing animated film globally of\nall time. Meanwhile, \u201cBlack Myth: Wukong\u201d, a Chinese-made video game,\nalso captivated players when released a year ago.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon presents a dilemma for the Communist Party of China,\nwhich is beginning to recognise the value of exporting Chinese culture\nabroad, yet remains wary of giving too much freedom to creatives amid\nthe government\u2019s strict censorship.<\/p>\n
The Chinese government has historically tended to prioritise science\nand technology over entertainment, so investments in sectors like gaming\nand short videos were once less encouraged. Tight control over content\nnot only makes investors hesitant but also diverts creative talent to\nother industries.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Chinese tech giants continue to pour funds into the\nentertainment industry. For example, with Black Myth: Wukong, Tencent\nhelped fund the game-making studio founded by its former executive, Feng\nJi.<\/p>\n
That funding support gave Feng more time to develop the game while\nlaunching a four-year marketing campaign before release. The studio\nbehind Ne Zha 2 was also backed by the boss of Meituan, another major\ntech company.<\/p>\n
Such support is crucial for China\u2019s new generation of creative\ntalent. Many of them, including Feng Ji and Yang Yu (director of Ne Zha\n2), were born in the 1980s when China began opening up to the world.\nThey grew up in the early 2000s, when internet censorship was minimal\nand access to foreign sites and cultures was far freer.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/amid-the-boom-dracin-faces-many-new-enemies-in-china-1776498647", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }