STVFORUM | Explores Greater Global Cooperation for Chinese TV Dramas

Future cooperation opportunities for Chinese long-form TV dramas and micro-short dramas was the focus of a Magnolia Forum session that attracted global platform representatives at the ongoing Shanghai TV Festival on June 22.

The STVFORUM, titled "Chinese Stories, Global Buyers: The International Marketplace for Long-Form and Short-Form Drama," was held at Shanghai Exhibition Center and saw topics such as overseas distribution, international trade and localization on the agenda for industry professionals from China, France, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Singapore and Brazil.

The "International Platforms Dialogue" moderated by Roy Lu, general manager of Linmon International, gave voice to panelists who included Wang Qi, Cédric Dufour, Ho Kuen Wei, and Bexultan Kazybek.

Wang Qi said local content from Southeast Asia, especially Thai dramas and Indonesian productions, has shown robust growth potential in recent years. The overseas expansion of Chinese content was no longer limited to distributing finished works, she said, but also requires deeper cooperation with local platforms, creators and market partners.

"Cooperation is definitely greater than competition," Wang said. She added that different platforms have their own strengths in global distribution, local production and audience understanding, making joint development, co-distribution and localized operation important directions for the future.

Participants agreed that different markets varied significantly in genre preferences, viewing habits and business models. When selecting Chinese content, overseas platforms valued not only the appeal of the story itself, but also localization capabilities, promotional resources and talent participation.

"Besides content itself, cross-border marketing is also important," Wang Qi said, adding that artists' participation in overseas promotion can help bring productions closer to local audiences.

The second half of the forum focused on "The Globalization Wave and Localization Practices of Micro-Short Dramas." Moderated by Wang Yin, the roundtable featured Meggie Wu, Vivian Zhang, Lee Hung Sheng from Singapore, and Paulo Ferreira from Brazil. 

Panelists noted that micro-short dramas have developed rapidly in China in recent years and are gradually entering overseas markets, including North America, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. "Themes such as love and revenge are universal," Meggie Wu said. "But when it comes to localization, we need to consider where the conflict comes from in each market."

AI was also a key topic in the discussion. The technology has already been widely used in dubbing, translation, and parts of production, helping reduce costs and improve efficiency, the panel was told. However, Vivian Zhang warned: "The lower limit of the industry may be supported by AI, but the upper limit still depends on storytelling."

The forum highlighted latest trends in the overseas expansion of Chinese long-form dramas and micro-short dramas. As global platforms pay increasing attention to Chinese content, Chinese stories will need to strike a more precise balance among content quality, cooperation models, and localized expression to reach broader international audiences.