STVFORUM｜Policy Support, Ecosystem Creation, and High-quality Content: Shanghai Accelerates the Miniseries Industry

Yang Zheng

Deputy Director of the Online Audiovisual Department of the National Radio and Television Administration

The following expectations should be emphasized for promoting the creation of high-quality miniseries, building a healthy ecosystem, and achieving innovation-driven growth: First, to maintain correct orientation with the people at the core. It is essential to uphold the right political direction, public opinion guidance, and value orientation. Social benefits must always be prioritized, with clear boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, and beauty and ugliness, while discarding vulgar, mundane, and kitsch phenomena. The creators must consistently adopt a people-centric approach, drawing inspiration from the great practices and vibrant lives of the people, addressing their lives, fates, and emotions, and expressing their wishes, sentiments, and voices.

Second, to pursue excellence and superior quality. The goal should be to create works that are both critically acclaimed and popular, without pandering to trends or being overly elitist. By ensuring quality-driven viewership and viewership-driven quality, high-quality miniseries content can genuinely resonate with the public.

Third, to focus on ecosystem construction and orderly regulation. It is essential to reasonably construct and continuously optimize the miniseries industry chain, extend its reach, actively integrate it into the broader economic development landscape, explore cross-industry collaboration, and enhance the social attention, participation, and reputation of miniseries. Fourth, technological empowerment and innovation cultivation are critical. Leveraging technology and encouraging innovation will ensure that the development of miniseries resonates with advancements in artificial intelligence, propelling the industry into a new phase of prosperity.

Zhong Xiaomin

Party Secretary and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television

In recent years, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Administration of Radio and Television have deeply studied and implemented President Xi Jinping's important discourse on cultural and artistic work, adhering to a people-centered value orientation and placing significant emphasis on the development of miniseries. Following the directives from the National Radio and Television Administration, we have focused on both management and prosperity, fully promoting the development of high-quality miniseries in Shanghai. We strive to create outstanding works that enhance the spiritual strength of the people. Among these, GET OLD RECENTLY became one of the first miniseries to be included in the Administration's list of excellent online audiovisual programs nationwide. It was also the only miniseries project to make the list of the Administration's special programs for outstanding online audiovisual works in 2022. By 2023, the number of miniseries-related enterprises in Shanghai has exceeded 200, with a market size of approximately 5.5 billion yuan. On behalf of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Administration of Radio and Television, I warmly welcome outstanding companies dedicated to the miniseries industry to invest and establish themselves in Shanghai. We extend a heartfelt invitation to miniseries content creators to gather in Shanghai, take root here, and grow together with this vibrant city.

Luo Yi

Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai Administration of Radio and Television

As a leading hub for online audiovisual content creation in China, Shanghai's rich heritage in the film and television industry provides fertile ground and comprehensive advantages for the development of miniseries. To seize the new opportunities in the miniseries sector and establish Shanghai as a new cultural consumption hotspot, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, together with the Shanghai Administration of Radio and Television and the districts of Yangpu, Songjiang, and Minhang, have jointly formulated "Several Measures (Trial) for Shanghai’s Promotion of Miniseries Industry Development."

The newly introduced policies, based on Shanghai's urban positioning and resource advantages, emphasize leading high-quality content, the concentration of industry parks, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and a vision for precise government services. The goal is to produce over 300 high-quality miniseries within three years, nurture and expand ten leading industry enterprises, achieve an annual miniseries market size of 15 billion yuan, and create a healthy and orderly industry ecosystem characterized by spatial concentration, rich diversity, active creation, technological empowerment, and precise services.

Both municipal and district levels will coordinate departmental budgets to establish the Shanghai Online Miniseries Industry Guidance Fund, with an initial support scale of 50 million RMB. The focus will be on supporting high-quality development of miniseries, with individual projects receiving up to 3 million RMB. Major impactful miniseries events will receive up to 1 million RMB, and blockbuster miniseries integrating commerce, tourism, culture, and sports will also receive up to 1 million RMB.

Gu Jianbin

Standing Committee Member and Minister of Publicity Department of Songjiang District

In line with the unified deployment of the Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and according to the Songjiang District Policies on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Film and TV Industry of Shanghai High-tech Films and Televisions City, the District has meticulously compiled a list of 15 policies to promote the development of the miniseries industry.

Among the policies, there are 10 financial support measures, such as providing up to 3 million RMB in matching funds for projects that receive national or Shanghai-specific miniseries industry grants, up to 1 million RMB in rewards for popular miniseries, up to 4.3 million RMB for award-winning works, and up to 500,000 RMB for individuals and teams. Additionally, there are five safeguard measures, including the creation of miniseries production hubs, the establishment of a content pre-review service center in Songjiang District, enhanced guidance for content creation, improved precision in enterprise services, and the development of a talent cultivation system for the miniseries industry.

Wang Hao

Deputy District Mayor of Yangpu District

To promote coordinated development across the industry, Yangpu District will introduce 11 policies to support the miniseries sector. For industry aggregation, newly established miniseries enterprises can receive up to 3 million RMB in house purchase subsidies or 1.5 million RMB in rental subsidies.

National or municipal industry associations settling in the district can receive up to 500,000 RMB in startup and rent subsidies. High-impact miniseries events can receive up to 2 million RMB in policy support. For content creation, miniseries that are selected as outstanding works by the National Radio and Television Administration or win prestigious film and television awards can receive up to 2 million RMB in rewards. Miniseries produced in Yangpu District that are broadcast on major domestic video platforms can receive up to 2 million RMB based on various metrics. Additionally, Yangpu District will implement a series of measures to support enterprise innovation, increase financial support, and accelerate talent development.

This event, hosted by the Pan-Entertainment Content Industry Research Organization Dongxi Entertainment, featured roundtable forums on "Trends and Directions in the Miniseries Industry" and "Trends in High-Quality Miniseries Creation", attracting over a dozen industry guests. East-West Entertainment's Managing Partner, Cao Hong, served as the moderator.

Roundtable 1

Trends and Directions in the Miniseries Industry Development

Cao Rui

Head of Tencent Video's Galaxy Studio for Film and TV Content Production

Cao Rui emphasized that the current open and sustainable development policies provided by platforms and institutions are crucial for the industry's growth. These policies allow creators to focus on their work, ensuring the sustainable development of the entire industry.

In terms of consumption trend, he noted the increasing consumer interest in miniseries, with consumption data rising significantly, contributing to the industry's overall growth. The involvement of various sectors, including marketing, training, and forums, will further refine the industry chain and ensure everyone in the industry receives substantial commercial returns.

Nan Yapeng

Vice President of Crazy Maple Studio

Nan Yapeng highlighted the untapped potential of the overseas miniseries market, which is still in its "blue ocean" stage. In Q1 2024, global miniseries market revenue increased more than tenfold compared to the same period last year, with the growth trend continuing. However, there is a severe shortage of locally produced content overseas. Although China is currently the largest producer globally, there is still a significant gap between supply and demand, thus presenting numerous opportunities.

For Chinese miniseries to successfully “go global”, Nan suggested collaborating with leading overseas platforms for localized adaptations, as foreign audiences prefer stories set in familiar environments featuring local Western actors.

Wang Haiyue

Head of Kuaishou's Xingmang Miniseries Business 

Wang Haiyue shared that Kuaishou has iterated its policies this year, removing the previous requirement for blockbuster validation, thereby providing more open space for new creators to explore and create. Kuaishou also offers comprehensive support in terms of traffic, cash incentives, and other resources to help creators grow.

On the technical front, the capabilities of AIGC have significantly enhanced production efficiency in miniseries creation, with Kuaishou's first entirely AI-produced miniseries set to be released soon. Wang emphasized that quality content is good business, noting the discussions around consumer-end content payments and the potential for revenue from brand clients, which will be a key focus area in the future.

Zhao Weichen

General Manager of the Internet and Entertainment Industry Group at Xiaohongshu

Zhao Weichen highlighted the increasingly fragmented nature of audience time, requiring the condensation of content from one hour to 1-3 minutes. This trend towards high-quality, premium content aligns perfectly with Xiaohongshu's community and commercialization strategies. To better enter this field, it is essential to create a high-quality miniseries ecosystem, where every link in the industry chain—from investors, brands, content producers, distributors, to platforms—embraces the concept of premium content.

On this foundation, Xiaohongshu will provide more support to all participants in the product chain, enabling them to better engage in short drama promotion, content production, and investment within the Xiaohongshu ecosystem, thereby achieving long-term user engagement and commercial transformation.

Zhou Yuan

Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Ningmeng Film

Zhou Yuan shared that as a premium film and television production company, Ningmeng began building a short video content ecosystem three years ago, driven primarily by user demand for content. Their high-quality long dramas, whether broadcast on long video platforms or television, have garnered billions of views on short video platforms, indicating a strong need for plot-driven, high-quality content on these platforms.

Summarizing their approach, Zhou emphasized the importance of starting from user needs. The strong demand for high-quality miniseries from users is a constant driving force in the industry. Discovering miniseries has given Chinese creators a new frontier, allowing them to bypass Disney and Netflix and directly export their content overseas, a prospect Zhou finds incredibly exciting.

Zhang Yuan

Deputy Party Secretary and Chief Producer of Documentaries and Premium Short Dramas at Bilibili

Zhang Yuan emphasized the importance of converting user demand for content into production momentum, as this is crucial for expressing content demands and projecting core brand values. Bilibili hosts a plethora of talented content creators, and the platform aims to further motivate them by dedicating more resources towards the short drama segment, including promotion, operations, traffic, and marketing, to create a robust ecosystem for premium miniseries on Bilibili.

Additionally, Bilibili is keen on observing changes in user habits brought about by fragmented time usage and adapting content to better match these new patterns, which is a significant demand in the development of premium miniseries.

Roundtable 2

Trends in High-Quality Miniseries Creation

Chen Xuan

Vice President of Perfect World Pictures and General Manager of Perfect World Pictures

Chen Xuan highlighted three distinct characteristics in the current miniseries consumption market: firstly, high-density information content, intense emotional engagement, and strong plot twists have become “essential demands”; secondly, strong user engagement with increasing daily viewing times; and thirdly, close interaction between users and creators.

When developing content, it is crucial to identify and target our vertical audience, understanding their preferences and creating content accordingly. We also need to promptly gather user feedback on our projects and iterate our innovations with each new release. We have consistently focused on vertical content, especially female-centric themes such as family, romance, and marriage, which currently dominate. However, new genres like comedy, suspense, and fantasy are also emerging. In the future, we plan to integrate new elements into our reserved projects, adding fresh components to the female-centric themes, thereby expanding the possibilities in the miniseries domain.

Liu Muhan

Head of Short Dramas at Qimao Pictures

Liu Muhan explained that as an IP platform, their responsibility is to ensure high-quality content from the source. They categorize content into various segments, such as male-focused and female-focused, which naturally align with the development of short dramas. They also blend elements like female suspense, social suspense, hard-core suspense, soft sci-fi suspense, and AI-related suspense.

Additionally, they use a data-driven approach, leveraging big data, with “dual approaches” in manual and algorithms to operate the ecosystem. By identifying content that resonates with short drama audiences, they aim to develop a data model that facilitates content creation.

Mu Yuqiang

Head of Online Content and Producer at Shanghai Mahua FunAge

Mu Yuqiang shared that since Mahua FunAge started producing miniseries in 2020, they have observed several trends: First, overall production standards, including quality and audience expectations, have significantly increased; Second, viewers now demand higher emotional value, emotional intensity, and narrative tension in the content; Third, the variety of miniseries genres is constantly expanding, leading to a broader audience base. Initially, we experimented with comedy, but ultimately decided to adhere to market trends.Currently, we are working on two profit-sharing projects, both targeting female audiences: one set in ancient times and the other in the Republican era.

Their current focus can be summarized with three keywords: creative setting, emotional intensity, and captivating characters. Additionally, they are exploring male-focused genres, which still have untapped market potential, and continuing their innovative efforts in integrating comedy with cultural tourism.

Xie Jiabing

Head of Gugu Studio for Premium Short Dramas at China Mobile Migu

Xie Jiabing noted the significant potential of the male audience market this year. Whether through interactive short dramas combined with games or large-scale mini-program dramas, it is evident that male consumers have a high demand for short dramas. As a video platform centered on sports events, with 70% of its members being male, Migu Video plans to produce and customize male-oriented suspense dramas this year. From a market perspective, content that has performed well, such as stories evolved from mini-program dramas, will be prioritized. Their screenwriters are also developing themes similar to BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI.

Additionally, Migu aims to connect online short drama IPs with offline entertainment spaces, such as immersive script-based entertainment and stage performances, which will be a breakthrough in the commercialization of short dramas.

Yang Fei

Head of Short Dramas at Lili Cheng Media

Yang Fei highlighted that regulatory guidance from the National and Municipal Administrations has provided leadership and protection for the development of premium short dramas. As the industry evolves and audience aesthetic appreciation improves, "premium quality" will become a standard rather than a slogan for creators. Diversification is also a trend, with increasingly varied and innovative short drama genres and formats indicating a strong curiosity and wide range of interests among audiences. This feedback signals the need for ongoing innovation and reform to broaden our path.

Furthermore, many short drama viewers value emotional content, seeking to see reflections of themselves and express their feelings through the content they consume. This is a crucial insight for future short drama creation, emphasizing the need to continually review themes and content to better connect and empathize with the audience.

Zong Nan

Founder of Haoyuan Pictures and Chief Producer of THE PEN

Zong Nan noted that the current trend in short dramas is characterized by strong settings, intense plot twists, and well-defined characters. However, Haoyuan Pictures is introducing a new concept of "true real life depiction" and "high artistic intention." They believe that by focusing on real-life, relatable content, and elevating the artistic value of their works, they can define the future direction of premium short dramas.

For commercialization, Zong suggests exploring the TO B segment, where content development focuses on brand planning and marketing. Additionally, there are various monetization models, such as branded customization, theatrical monetization pathways, and even evolving into product placement, which represents a long-term commercial strategy.