Author | "Financial" New Media Wang Baiyun
Editor | Jiang Shizhou
"After the Spring Festival in 2024, many leading short drama platforms began to store script copyright IP, incubate screenwriter content teams, set up editing teams, and business teams for external acquisitions of scripts, etc. "The relevant person in charge of a short drama platform said that they are trying to seize more market space by forming a complete closed loop. While the
short drama platform is staking its claim, some MCN organizations are not idle either. According to people familiar with the matter, some MCN companies have shut down some business lines and are preparing for "all in short plays". The reason behind
is inseparable from the temptation of "low investment, quick return". Lu Bowen, the producer of the leading platform, told Caijing New Media that the rate of return depends on the short drama project. Some projects have quick returns, and can even cover the cost in the first month of launch.
"The total amount of paid daily short dramas is about 60 million to 70 million yuan"
Kuaishou data shows that in 2023, there will be 94 million users who watch more than 10 episodes of heavy micro short dramas on the Kuaishou platform every day, a year-on-year increase of 52.6%. Yan Lun, the producer of
short dramas, said, "You can see people watching short dramas on the subway and on airplanes. This kind of fragmented entertainment meets the needs of current users." "From the perspective of Internet products, judging the future products of domestic short dramas "Trends and Market Space" report shows that the number of short drama registrations will explode in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 252%, reaching 3,293; the number of short drama registrations in 2023 will increase by 8.53% year-on-year, reaching 3,574, and the average number of episodes per drama will increase from 2022 to 2022. has grown from 23 episodes to 27 episodes in 2023.
"Now, in Beijing, Hengdian, Xi'an and other places where film and television projects are concentrated, more than 70% of them are short drama projects. When a track becomes popular, a lot of people will come in." Lu Bowen believes that practitioners related to information flow have a clear understanding of the situation. The potential of the short drama track is the fastest to respond, and it can be said to be the first batch of people to enter, followed by film and television companies that have been exposed to short drama projects. Currently, advertising media companies, studios, etc. have also entered the field.
"Finance" new media learned that at present, short drama players are beginning to recruit talents and strive to build a complete closed loop to expand market share. For example, a leading short drama production team with director, project manager, screenwriter and other positions will have 500 to 600 employees at the end of 2023, and this year it has expanded to nearly 1,000 people.
According to Lu Bowen, the short drama project can quickly get results and market feedback, because it is directly oriented to the C-end, and as long as they have the financial strength, they will think that they can try it. There is even a myth circulating in the field of short plays that the monthly turnover is 200 million or 300 million.
Judging from the background data, the revenue from short dramas develops in waves, and there will continue to be new peaks. Lu Bowen revealed, “Some dramas received a mediocre response in the first month after they were released, but more and more users recharged later, and they even made more money than the dramas that were a big hit at the beginning.”
According to Yan Lun, “The domestic short drama market is paying more and more every day. The total consumption of watching dramas is about 60 million to 70 million yuan, which is 4 to 5 billion yuan a week. In some periods, it is even higher than the box office of theater movies in the same period. "
Many short drama practitioners said that short dramas are currently mainly profitable. It comes from user payment, subscription split and advertising placement.
"User Pay" is considered by many short drama practitioners to be "both the big deal and the source of profit with the greatest commercial potential". It mainly adopts a pay-to-view model, charging less than 1 yuan per episode. Watching the entire drama costs Within 100 yuan, the first 10 episodes are usually free to attract users to watch.
"subscription" is the membership model. After becoming a member, users can watch all the dramas on the platform. Every time a user requests a video, the corresponding fee will be split between the copyright owner and the producer. In addition to user payment, subscription sharing and advertising placement,
’s short drama profit methods also include e-commerce delivery, brand customized dramas, game slicing, etc.
Lu Bowen said that different projects have different proportions of profit sharing. "The initial cost of brand-customized dramas is covered by the brand, and the later revenue will continue to be shared, because the producer and the brand both produce the product together."
"2023 Kuaishou Short Drama" "Value Report" shows that Kuaishou has launched a total of 90+ commercial short dramas, and the number of brand cooperation is 35+. In 2023, Q3 short drama investment income will increase 10 times month-on-month, and the industry covers e-commerce Internet, food and beverage, beauty and skin care and other industries. field.
"A certain short drama has made 100 million yuan, and the investment cost is 80 million to 90 million yuan."
"Notice of the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television on Further Strengthening the Management and Implementation of the Creation Improvement Plan for Online Micro Short Dramas" shows that online micro dramas Short dramas refer to film and television works whose single episode lasts from tens of seconds to about 15 minutes, has a relatively clear theme and main line, and a relatively continuous and complete storyline. Its characteristics include: low production cost, lightweight content, and focused communication. wait.
From the perspective of the industry chain, the upstream of micro-short dramas includes investors, copyright owners, MCN institutions, etc.; the midstream is the producers such as photography teams and performing arts teams; the downstream is the video distributors.
During the entire project circulation process, Yan Lun emphasized the importance of self-control capabilities and traffic. "The upstream of short dramas are some platforms with closed-loop production capabilities, or institutions that have no production capabilities but control the online channels and distribution channels of dramas."
Compared with outsourcing projects to short drama production teams, the internal functions of these platforms Incubation requires more capital investment. Yan Lun believes, "It's like investing in an angel round. What we invest in is the future valuation of these production lines. We also hope to use these more controllable production methods to improve the repertoire of our own platforms." Number of launches in a single month. "
For film and television investors, they will not put all their eggs in one basket. Due to the short cycle of short dramas, the results can basically be obtained in one or two months. Film and television investors may invest in 10 short and fast projects at the same time. Li Wen, a short drama production practitioner at
, revealed that he had previously filmed a Douyin short drama with a plan of 25 episodes, each episode was 3 minutes long, and the filming cycle was 15 days. However, in order to save costs, the filming cycle was later reduced to 6 days. "Under such tight time pressure, cuts may be made at all levels. For example, if the scene is generally passable, then filming can begin."
Compared with online drama shooting, the short drama production team has a smaller number of people. Under normal circumstances, an online drama requires about 100 people, but most short drama production teams only have more than 20 people.
iiMedia Consulting CEO and chief analyst Zhang Yi believes that at the actor level, it is not that important whether the participants in the short drama are first-line stars. To a certain extent, this guarantees the output of the short drama because of the cost of actors. It is controllable. "Even if the cost is relatively higher now, it is not a pain (cost) that everyone cannot bear."
In terms of promotion, long-form dramas and theater movies take 1 to 2 years or even more from the preparation period to the promotion period. It takes longer, but the entire cycle of the short play project is very fast, from early preparation to completion, it only takes 1 to 2 months. Lu Bowen said that there is no extra time for publicity and preparation in the short play, because after finishing this project, we have to immediately move on to the next project.
"The gameplay of short dramas is completely different from that of online dramas. In terms of distribution, the core of short dramas is to find people for the drama, while online dramas are for people to find dramas. Many people in the film and television industry will not be accustomed to the field of short dramas." short Yan Min, a drama practitioner, said that taking Douyin as an example, short dramas are streamed by paying money to buy traffic. Douyin looks for precise audiences based on the type of the play.
In an era where traffic is king, marketing promotion costs such as short drama streaming are naturally high. A short drama practitioner revealed, "If a short drama has sold for 100 million yuan, its investment cost may be 80 million to 90 million yuan, but the actual profit is only 10 million yuan, or even less."
"Within five years The size of the short drama market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan."
In the view of many short drama practitioners, after three years of development, the content of the short drama field has become seriously homogenized, users are gradually experiencing aesthetic fatigue, and the short drama market has entered a stage of rapid development.
As early as 2018, iQiyi launched the vertical screen short drama "Life Has Attacked Me", officially kicking off the micro-short drama craze. Subsequently, short video platforms such as Kuaishou and Douyin, as well as mcn organizations, creative talents and other participants entered the game one after another. Starting from 2020, the micro-short drama industry has gradually entered an explosive period. Various platforms have launched short drama support plans, and short video platforms have become the main supply.
"Short dramas have completed the journey of online dramas in five or six years in two or three years." Lu Bowen said, this requires short drama players to make quality products faster and more urgently. "The industry predicts that in the beginning or the first half of 2024, the short drama industry will see a large number of high-quality upgrades, but we did not expect that this trend would have already started by the end of 2023.In the early days, 100,000 yuan could be used to produce two short plays. Now, the production cost of a short play is about 360,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan. At the end of last year, the cost of a short play project was as high as 1.2 million yuan. "
Lu Bowen believes that it is a good thing for the industry to have excellent participants muddy the waters. "If an industry wants to progress and the ecology wants to be improved, it needs a variety of teams to come in to discover and optimize industry links. Problem, if you don't optimize it, you will be eliminated. Therefore, I am very optimistic about this kind of involution that forces industrial upgrading and ecological improvement. Countless tracks have verified this rule. "The popularity of
short dramas has also attracted the attention of regulatory authorities. On April 17, 2023, the China Online Audiovisual Program Service Association issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management and Implementation of the Creation Improvement Plan for Online Micro-Short Dramas" requiring WeChat, Platforms such as Kuaishou and Douyin have further strengthened the governance of "mini program" online micro-short dramas and guided the standardized development of "mini-program" online micro-short dramas.
issued the "Multiple Measures of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television" on November 25, 2023. "Continue to Carry Out the Governance of Online Micro-Short Dramas" clearly states that research will be conducted to promote the inclusion of online micro-short drama apps and "mini programs" in daily organizational management; establish a mini-program "blacklist" mechanism, and a statistical mechanism for promoting online micro-short dramas
. In 2024, the supervision of micro-short dramas will be further intensified. In April, multiple media reported that a provincial regulatory department had issued the "Latest Work Tips on the Registration of Micro-Short Dramas" to provincial production agencies and broadcasting organizations, and each platform must Information about micro-short dramas that are currently broadcast online without registration shall be reported to the local provincial radio and television authorities for registration before May 31, 2024. From June 1, 2024, micro-short dramas that have not been reviewed and registered will be filed. Dramas are not allowed to be broadcast online.
’s self-review from the beginning to the intervention of regulatory authorities is a reflection of the formalization process. A practitioner said, “Art film and television content itself must give positive guidance to the audience, and short drama projects. The initial audience was middle-aged men or women in their thirties or forties, but now we see in the background that short drama users have covered most short video users including primary school students, junior high school students and other teenagers, who may be The content of the skit affected. "
" If the entire industry is still stuck in low-level production, it will overdraw the aesthetics and patience of users and do no good to the development of the industry. As the consumption level of the audience increases day by day, their requirements will become higher and higher, which will force the industry to Output quality products, correct values, etc. "Zhang Yi believes that the supervision of short dramas will definitely become stricter in the future, which is an inevitable law of industry development.
Starting from 2023, the export of short dramas will become a new trend.
Zhang Yi believes that in the short term, the business model of short dramas is China is the first one, and there are no strong competitors abroad for the time being. Therefore, short drama overseas is a track worth trying from 2024 to 2025. According to people in the short drama circle, the feedback from foreign users is similar. We also like short plays, but we need to find suitable content. “Many of the stories and plots that we think are very good are not adapted to the outside world. Localization can get better feedback and results, which means that the script conforms to the local culture and local actors, directors and production teams are found to complete the project. "
There are platforms for "all in short dramas", there are platforms that have set up closed loops to seize the market, and there are platforms that take dramas overseas. There are various signs that the market is optimistic about the future of the short drama industry.
Zhang Yi believes that in the next one or two years, short dramas will It is still the most worthy investment and layout direction in the field of film and television dramas: on the one hand, the profit model of short dramas is clear; on the other hand, the production cycle of short dramas is relatively short and controllable; in addition, the plots of short dramas also accurately capture some audiences.
"In 2023, the short drama market will reach nearly 40 billion, equivalent to 70% of the film market in the same period. The short drama market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan within five years. ” said Chen Yiyi, head of Kuaishou Entertainment Business.
(Some interviewees are pseudonyms)
"A certain short drama has made 100 million yuan, and the investment cost is 80 million to 90 million yuan."
"Notice of the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television on Further Strengthening the Management and Implementation of the Creation Improvement Plan for Online Micro Short Dramas" shows that online micro dramas Short dramas refer to film and television works whose single episode lasts from tens of seconds to about 15 minutes, has a relatively clear theme and main line, and a relatively continuous and complete storyline. Its characteristics include: low production cost, lightweight content, and focused communication. wait.
From the perspective of the industry chain, the upstream of micro-short dramas includes investors, copyright owners, MCN institutions, etc.; the midstream is the producers such as photography teams and performing arts teams; the downstream is the video distributors.
During the entire project circulation process, Yan Lun emphasized the importance of self-control capabilities and traffic. "The upstream of short dramas are some platforms with closed-loop production capabilities, or institutions that have no production capabilities but control the online channels and distribution channels of dramas."
Compared with outsourcing projects to short drama production teams, the internal functions of these platforms Incubation requires more capital investment. Yan Lun believes, "It's like investing in an angel round. What we invest in is the future valuation of these production lines. We also hope to use these more controllable production methods to improve the repertoire of our own platforms." Number of launches in a single month. "
For film and television investors, they will not put all their eggs in one basket. Due to the short cycle of short dramas, the results can basically be obtained in one or two months. Film and television investors may invest in 10 short and fast projects at the same time. Li Wen, a short drama production practitioner at
, revealed that he had previously filmed a Douyin short drama with a plan of 25 episodes, each episode was 3 minutes long, and the filming cycle was 15 days. However, in order to save costs, the filming cycle was later reduced to 6 days. "Under such tight time pressure, cuts may be made at all levels. For example, if the scene is generally passable, then filming can begin."
Compared with online drama shooting, the short drama production team has a smaller number of people. Under normal circumstances, an online drama requires about 100 people, but most short drama production teams only have more than 20 people.
iiMedia Consulting CEO and chief analyst Zhang Yi believes that at the actor level, it is not that important whether the participants in the short drama are first-line stars. To a certain extent, this guarantees the output of the short drama because of the cost of actors. It is controllable. "Even if the cost is relatively higher now, it is not a pain (cost) that everyone cannot bear."
In terms of promotion, long-form dramas and theater movies take 1 to 2 years or even more from the preparation period to the promotion period. It takes longer, but the entire cycle of the short play project is very fast, from early preparation to completion, it only takes 1 to 2 months. Lu Bowen said that there is no extra time for publicity and preparation in the short play, because after finishing this project, we have to immediately move on to the next project.
"The gameplay of short dramas is completely different from that of online dramas. In terms of distribution, the core of short dramas is to find people for the drama, while online dramas are for people to find dramas. Many people in the film and television industry will not be accustomed to the field of short dramas." short Yan Min, a drama practitioner, said that taking Douyin as an example, short dramas are streamed by paying money to buy traffic. Douyin looks for precise audiences based on the type of the play.
In an era where traffic is king, marketing promotion costs such as short drama streaming are naturally high. A short drama practitioner revealed, "If a short drama has sold for 100 million yuan, its investment cost may be 80 million to 90 million yuan, but the actual profit is only 10 million yuan, or even less."
"Within five years The size of the short drama market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan."
In the view of many short drama practitioners, after three years of development, the content of the short drama field has become seriously homogenized, users are gradually experiencing aesthetic fatigue, and the short drama market has entered a stage of rapid development.
As early as 2018, iQiyi launched the vertical screen short drama "Life Has Attacked Me", officially kicking off the micro-short drama craze. Subsequently, short video platforms such as Kuaishou and Douyin, as well as mcn organizations, creative talents and other participants entered the game one after another. Starting from 2020, the micro-short drama industry has gradually entered an explosive period. Various platforms have launched short drama support plans, and short video platforms have become the main supply.
"Short dramas have completed the journey of online dramas in five or six years in two or three years." Lu Bowen said, this requires short drama players to make quality products faster and more urgently. "The industry predicts that in the beginning or the first half of 2024, the short drama industry will see a large number of high-quality upgrades, but we did not expect that this trend would have already started by the end of 2023.In the early days, 100,000 yuan could be used to produce two short plays. Now, the production cost of a short play is about 360,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan. At the end of last year, the cost of a short play project was as high as 1.2 million yuan. "
Lu Bowen believes that it is a good thing for the industry to have excellent participants muddy the waters. "If an industry wants to progress and the ecology wants to be improved, it needs a variety of teams to come in to discover and optimize industry links. Problem, if you don't optimize it, you will be eliminated. Therefore, I am very optimistic about this kind of involution that forces industrial upgrading and ecological improvement. Countless tracks have verified this rule. "The popularity of
short dramas has also attracted the attention of regulatory authorities. On April 17, 2023, the China Online Audiovisual Program Service Association issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management and Implementation of the Creation Improvement Plan for Online Micro-Short Dramas" requiring WeChat, Platforms such as Kuaishou and Douyin have further strengthened the governance of "mini program" online micro-short dramas and guided the standardized development of "mini-program" online micro-short dramas.
issued the "Multiple Measures of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television" on November 25, 2023. "Continue to Carry Out the Governance of Online Micro-Short Dramas" clearly states that research will be conducted to promote the inclusion of online micro-short drama apps and "mini programs" in daily organizational management; establish a mini-program "blacklist" mechanism, and a statistical mechanism for promoting online micro-short dramas
. In 2024, the supervision of micro-short dramas will be further intensified. In April, multiple media reported that a provincial regulatory department had issued the "Latest Work Tips on the Registration of Micro-Short Dramas" to provincial production agencies and broadcasting organizations, and each platform must Information about micro-short dramas that are currently broadcast online without registration shall be reported to the local provincial radio and television authorities for registration before May 31, 2024. From June 1, 2024, micro-short dramas that have not been reviewed and registered will be filed. Dramas are not allowed to be broadcast online.
’s self-review from the beginning to the intervention of regulatory authorities is a reflection of the formalization process. A practitioner said, “Art film and television content itself must give positive guidance to the audience, and short drama projects. The initial audience was middle-aged men or women in their thirties or forties, but now we see in the background that short drama users have covered most short video users including primary school students, junior high school students and other teenagers, who may be The content of the skit affected. "
" If the entire industry is still stuck in low-level production, it will overdraw the aesthetics and patience of users and do no good to the development of the industry. As the consumption level of the audience increases day by day, their requirements will become higher and higher, which will force the industry to Output quality products, correct values, etc. "Zhang Yi believes that the supervision of short dramas will definitely become stricter in the future, which is an inevitable law of industry development.
Starting from 2023, the export of short dramas will become a new trend.
Zhang Yi believes that in the short term, the business model of short dramas is China is the first one, and there are no strong competitors abroad for the time being. Therefore, short drama overseas is a track worth trying from 2024 to 2025. According to people in the short drama circle, the feedback from foreign users is similar. We also like short plays, but we need to find suitable content. “Many of the stories and plots that we think are very good are not adapted to the outside world. Localization can get better feedback and results, which means that the script conforms to the local culture and local actors, directors and production teams are found to complete the project. "
There are platforms for "all in short dramas", there are platforms that have set up closed loops to seize the market, and there are platforms that take dramas overseas. There are various signs that the market is optimistic about the future of the short drama industry.
Zhang Yi believes that in the next one or two years, short dramas will It is still the most worthy investment and layout direction in the field of film and television dramas: on the one hand, the profit model of short dramas is clear; on the other hand, the production cycle of short dramas is relatively short and controllable; in addition, the plots of short dramas also accurately capture some audiences.
"In 2023, the short drama market will reach nearly 40 billion, equivalent to 70% of the film market in the same period. The short drama market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan within five years. ” said Chen Yiyi, head of Kuaishou Entertainment Business.
(Some interviewees are pseudonyms)
