Yesterday , a screenshot of the "Hainan Radio and Television Production Organization Group" was widely circulated in the industry. It mentioned that all short drama production organizations and broadcasting organizations are required to comply with the new short drama registration regulations. Submit strictly according to the micro-short drama classification Submission; each platform strictly implements its main responsibilities to strengthen review capacity building, ensure broadcast safety, etc., and attaches a document titled "Latest Work Tips on Micro-Short Drama Registration".
This new short drama rule directly caused a stir in the industry.
Some people clapped their hands and applauded: "The industry is becoming more and more standardized, so you have to enter the game as early as possible."
Some people felt that many skits were embarrassing: "The situation is going to change."
Some people just flatly said: "What is supposed to come will always come. .”
Every industry has to go through stages of wild growth and strict supervision, and the short drama industry finally entered the latter stage at the end of early April.
(Note: This article is based on the document "Latest Work Tips on the Registration of Micro-Short Dramas" issued by the Hainan Provincial Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Please refer to the public notice of the local competent authority.)
New rules for "classification and hierarchical review" of short dramas are here The main reason why the new regulations of
will cause shock in the industry is the keyword of the new regulations - classification and hierarchical review.
According to the "Latest Work Tips on Micro-Short Drama Registration", implements different registration and review methods for "key micro-short plays", "ordinary micro-short plays" and "other micro-short plays". These three types of short plays are mainly based on investment The amounts are graded according to different amounts.
Different from the previous filing and review system, the new regulations define short plays with a total investment amount between 300,000 yuan (inclusive) and 1 million yuan and are not recommended as "ordinary micro short plays" and need to be registered with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The online audio-visual program registration system must be declared and reviewed by the provincial bureau, and all short plays must be marked with the "Online Drama Distribution License" number or program registration number
in the title of the title according to the corresponding format requirements. Currently, online audio-visual program registration is required. The system (website: http://117.134.1.55:9034/) has been launched for trial use. The production organization’s account is consistent with the key online film and television drama information filing system, and the initial password is 123456. In other words, after the new regulations are implemented, " "Key micro-short dramas" will be reviewed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, "ordinary micro-short dramas" will be reviewed by the Provincial State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and "other micro-short dramas" will be reviewed by the platform.
As for the current mini program short dramas, the cost of modern urban types The cost is around 500,000-600,000 yuan, and the cost of costume type is about 800,000 yuan. Most of them are suitable for the filing and review system of the "ordinary micro-short drama" category, which means they need to be registered in the new system and are managed by the Provincial State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
In addition, the new regulations also include Emphasized several situations that need attention:
. The micro-short dramas that are recommended to be broadcast will be recommended on the first screen of the platform's homepage. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will review the completed films.
. Major themes and special themes will be reviewed in accordance with relevant agreements. The review working mechanism implements the review requirements.
3. Producers, distributors, promotion platforms, broadcast platforms, etc. of micro-short dramas must review and control the promotional content they produce and release.
4. Online audio-visual platforms are not allowed. Do not disseminate micro-short dramas without a license or registration number.
5. Do not increase or reduce the amount of investment to avoid censorship, so as not to create difficulties for subsequent film review.
According to the document requirements. , Before May 31, 2024, each platform needs to report the relevant information of short dramas that have not been registered before the release of the new regulations to the local provincial radio and television authorities for registration. From June 1, 2024, without review and Registered short plays will be prohibited from being disseminated online.
Looking back at the history of short play supervision, since the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television officially included short plays in registration supervision and implemented the distribution licensing system, short plays have gradually transformed from wild ways to regular forces. In contrast to the explosive growth in the number of filings, the rate of approval is relatively low. According to the filing status of national key online micro-short dramas announced by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the average number of filings per month in the second half of 2023 exceeded 300, but during the same period (7~ November) The number of short plays approved for distribution averaged more than 50 per month, and the approval rate was less than 20%.
Today’s new regulations undoubtedly further refine supervision and further clarify the ownership of rights and responsibilities. This is the only way for the development of the industry, and may also start a period of pain.
After the boots fall, where will the short drama industry go? The new
regulations may seem to come suddenly, but they are not without trace.
The short drama industry has been really lively in recent years, but the quality of the works varies, and the strengthening of short drama supervision is an inevitable industry trend.
The impact of the implementation of the new regulations will undoubtedly be huge. Some people in the industry call it "a knife-like policy" . Zd, who is finishing the drama, expressed his pessimistic views to the short play study room, "This industry It will be basically cool.”
In zd’s view, the number of short plays in has exploded, and the submission of finished films required by the new regulations will restrict the expansion of the short play industry. At present, no less than 200,000 to 300,000 have been filmed. There is no backlog of dramas to be broadcast on the first platform. "It was immediately scrapped after June 1st and can no longer be broadcast. The lifespan is counted down to two months."
In the community of the short drama study room, some people think that the future will be "survival in the cracks". Some people also have expectations that the new regulations will alleviate the dilemma of homogeneity.
It can be seen that the new regulations are like a double-edged sword, and the impact cannot be viewed one-sidedly.
From a macro level, the new regulations mean stricter supervision. This is an important guarantee for the quality and standardization of short drama content. It will push the industry further in the current situation where the audience's requirements for content quality are constantly increasing. Yang Zihao, deputy general manager of Xi'an Film and Television Data Evaluation Center, expressed optimism about the new regulations. believes that the new regulations can force creators to focus on baggage and hooks, win with high-quality creative ideas that are in line with social positive energy, and at the same time transform content into Risks are front-loaded, and there are clearer standards and red lines in project selection, script control, and purchase of completed dramas.
At the China Internet Audiovisual Conference last month, the idea of "increasing content, not increasing costs" and was repeatedly mentioned. Isn't this new regulation an implementation of this concept to a certain extent? Short dramas with an investment of less than 300,000 yuan can have a relatively relaxed censorship environment, which may prompt a large number of short dramas to try to control costs, and the industry will return to the original basic logic of leveraging large traffic at low cost. Perhaps what the official hope of is to "bring down" the cost of short dramas and make short drama practitioners who are trapped in cost involution aware of the changes in the general direction. The introduction of new regulations is a subtle release of this signal.
When it comes to the actual operation of the industry, the new regulations have different impacts on all parties in the industry.
. For upstream IP parties, the new regulations
can strengthen the copyright protection of short plays. In the long run, this will help reduce the homogeneous content of plagiarism and combat piracy. But at the same time, the new regulations also restrict some themes to a certain extent, requiring screenwriters to grasp the scale when creating. and this scale is not yet clear, and subsequent actual attempts are needed to determine the red line for filing and review.
Short Play Study Room learned from chats with many screenwriters that apart from the consensus that the elimination rate of scripts will increase, the impact of the new regulations on screenwriters’ work does not seem to be significant.
Although the new regulations have increased the industry's requirements for scripts, for example, the producer's Xiaotian revealed that in the future, he will give priority to scripts with novel themes, in-depth dialogues, and plots that are in line with key online short dramas and even Internet dramas, "deviating from the original 'local' scripts." ' and 'plain water'."
But in the view of screenwriter Gray Whirlpool, "For screenwriters, they must either ignore the amount of investment and be completely loyal to the content, or they must know how to consciously control costs in the process of writing scripts. These are actually all According to Party A's requirements, it will not have much impact on the original work. It's not that you can't write revenge in . It depends on how you write it. Don't traditional movies and TV shows also have revenge themes? "
. For producers and contractors? The new regulations
have greatly raised the industry threshold. will eliminate a large number of small companies and middlemen. This will also intensify the Matthew Effect in the industry. Producers with more sufficient funds can produce higher quality short drama content, which will be easier to pass the review and put into the market.
Xiaotian told the short drama study room that after the introduction of grading review, it may cause producers to be cautious and cautious in content production, greatly reducing the online speed and frequency of short dramas. "(Higher quality requirements) will lead to production As costs increase, our producers may need to invest more resources, time and costs to ensure that micro-short dramas comply with relevant regulations.”
From this perspective, the growth rate of the short drama market will slow down significantly. At present, the registration system is still in the trial stage, and the review process and duration are not yet known. It may affect the pace of short dramas being launched and prolong the entire production and distribution cycle of short dramas.
It is worth noting that "ordinary micro-short dramas" are under the jurisdiction of the Provincial State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. means that the number of reviews in different provinces will be very different. The review of short-form dramas in less popular provinces may be much faster than in popular provinces, and it may also promote short-form short dramas. The drama then spread out across the country, rather than gathering together as it does today.
"Whoever has the opportunity to get the filing quickly will have the opportunity to come out." A practitioner of said so. But he is not overly worried, and pays more attention to adjusting strategies as soon as possible to provide more distribution channels. "Originally, the strategy this year is not quantity. All platforms are trying to increase the hit rate of single units and increase profits."
3. The clarification of the audit responsibilities of platforms and traffic channels
will bring certain pressure. may allow the platform to Fang was more restrained in providing guarantees. Compared with the originally loosely managed mini program short dramas, the traditional long video platform with more distribution channels and experience may have a greater chance of being put on the table. It is also foreseeable for that in the future, parties will gradually launch more management specifications, and will disperse content risks from the source of the content. Mo Ci, who is a screenwriter of
, even believes that the platform may reduce costs in order to promote smooth distribution. Because the current cost items of are relatively stable, the investment ratio will not change much. One episode of short drama is about 3,000-5,000 yuan. may compress the volume. "contains 80-100 episodes of content." Cut it down to 30-60 episodes, or just make a 30-60-episode drama, because most short dramas are not very good, so it’s better not to do three episodes at all, and focus on high-frequency first charges, recharges, or high-ticket orders. "
Based on the need to control costs, Mo Ci also said that he is optimistic about themes such as rural house fights and interpersonal relationships. Because the cost is controllable, the price is low enough, and the empathy is wide, it may be possible to achieve good results with a small investment.
In summary, the new regulations will inevitably have an impact on the current situation of the short drama industry.
is the first to bear the brunt of the "short, flat and fast" short drama. How fills the short volume with higher-quality content, how to show depth in the flat theme, and how to maintain the advantage of speed in the extended launch cycle are all This is an issue that needs to be considered after the new regulations are implemented.
At the same time, the new regulations of reveal an obvious implication of being in line with long-form dramas and online majors. is the only way to filter out some inferior content, but it will also restrict the development of genres. ZD said that the content of short dramas may become simplistic, and when it is transmitted to the consumer side, the current number of paying users may drop sharply. Such concerns are not unreasonable. After all, the demand for sinking the market has always existed.
But perhaps there is no need to be too pessimistic. The new registration regulations are not an entry condition for the industry. They only add a link to the original production and distribution process. Those who enter the industry can still let a hundred flowers bloom.
Therefore, we need to look at the implementation of the new regulations more rationally. As Yang Zihao said, as long as there is high-quality content, there will never be a shortage of viewers.
