With the fast-paced, reversed, and high-paced revenge plot of the concubine, the micro-short drama "Black Lotus Upper Manual", which was promoted as a combination of "The Legend of Zhen Huan" and "Yanxi Raiders", quickly became popular after being released on all platforms not long ago, and once appeared on the Weibo hot search list, and it was rumored to have attracted 20 million gold within 24 hours of its launch.
But soon, WeChat Coral Security, Douyin Security Center and Kuaishou Security Center issued an announcement saying that this micro-short drama exaggerated the bad values of extreme revenge and countering violence with violence, confused the concept of right and wrong, and destroyed the good ecology of the platform, and the platform has removed the show from the shelves. Some netizens who have watched it said that this drama does have a lot of content that violates human nature and human ethics, which is creepy.
It is worth noting that "Black Lotus Superior Handbook" is not an individual case, and it is one of the micro-short dramas that have been centrally governed by the platform in recent times. Recently, WeChat, Douyin, and Kuaishou, the three major short video platforms, have actively responded to the requirements of the State Administration of Radio and Television for the standardized management of the ecology of the online micro-short drama industry, and have successively banned a large number of accounts that publish micro-short dramas in violation of regulations, and removed tens of thousands of works within a week.
With the "hurricane" of micro-short dramas, these are based on bloody fragments such as traveling through history, sadomasochism of wealthy families, extreme revenge, etc., with extreme character relationships and quickly reversed plots, they have become "electronic pickles" for people to "eat". But judging from the content, many micro-short dramas have played a big game, and their grasp of ideology is worrying. From the perspective of the market, a large amount of capital has poured into the micro-short drama industry chain, which may lead to adverse consequences if it is not regulated.
On the one hand, countless entrants are trying to set off a new round of "myths" of wealth creation, and on the other hand, the regulatory authorities are stepping up supervision due to content boundary issues. In addition to the popularity of the micro-short drama industry, it also puts forward new requirements for high-quality development for future planning and development. Where did the new players come from, and what is their current profit model? Is the so-called "myth of wealth creation" really like this? After many days of interviews and investigations, this reporter from Nandu found that there is obviously still a gap between the facts and the assumptions.
A
Dozens of listed companies such as IP, games, film and television, and MCN have entered the game
Xiaomei (pseudonym) found that her mother doesn't like watching dramas recently, but instead holds her mobile phone and watches micro-short dramas every day. "Each episode is 3-5 minutes, fast-paced and short-term, all of which are adapted from online novels, and the plot is very gripping, reversed and reversed. Xiaomei said that her mother had recharged a few hundred yuan, which was a bit of a top-up.
This new online audio-visual mode is the hottest online micro-short drama at the moment. Nandu reporters investigated and found that a micro-short drama has about 80-100 episodes. Generally, the first 8-12 episodes are free, and if you want to unlock and watch them later, you need to pay to recharge, or watch ads to unlock them.
Nandu reporter learned that from the perspective of content distribution channels, short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou are currently the main positions of micro-short dramas, and most of the micro-short dramas on such platforms are maintained within 2-3 minutes. Long video platforms such as Youai Teng Mango TV are also entering micro-short dramas, but the content duration is mostly 5-6 minutes.
Taking Tencent Video as an example, it released the industry's first micro-short drama brand "Shifen Theater" in 2021, intending to explore the high-quality micro-short drama. It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of this year, the role of WeChat mini program channels in bringing fire to short dramas cannot be ignored, and there is even a saying in the industry that "the filming is completed in a week, it is launched in January, and a wealth is free", making the mini program micro-short drama a myth of wealth creation in the film and television industry. In addition, the remaining distribution channels may be small platforms incubated by film and television media companies or content production companies or apps developed by individuals, such as the Hippo Theater App under China Radio and Television Media.
For the current more mainstream platform, Fu Yalong, deputy general manager of Yien Solutions, said: "The long video platform has a special micro-short drama theater, which is relatively high-quality, and the specialization is close to that of long video. Short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have cooperated with many traditional professional film and television institutions in the support of micro-short dramas. In terms of magnitude, short video platforms invest more than long video platforms. In terms of content themes, the main platforms will have some differences based on their respective user attributes. ”
Compared with the clearer end distribution platform, the content providers, producers and producers in the upper and middle reaches of the micro-short drama industry chain can be described as diverse.
Tencent's Reading Group, Chinese Online, Palm Reading and other companies that hold a large number of novel copyright content are undoubtedly the first to use their rich IP content to directly enter the micro-short drama industry and transform into midstream producers and producers. For example, Palmread Technology has built a short drama production team of 80-90 people this year, and launched its own short drama App "Barley Short Drama", and many of its short dramas will also be broadcast on Douyin and Mini Programs.
As for the production link in the midstream, film and television production giants that previously focused on long dramas and MCN institutions with rich talent resources have entered the market, the former includes Huace Film and Television, Ningmeng Film and Television, Perfect Film and Television, Shanghai Film, Tangde Film and Television, etc., and the latter includes Yuanwang Technology, Wuwu Media, Gumai Jiahe, etc. In this link, in addition to being responsible for actors, scripts, shooting, etc., these companies will also need to be responsible for post-production, editing, etc.
However, as the voice of the terminal platform becomes more and more important, the broadcast platform also plays the role of the producer, and begins to cooperate with film and television companies and MCN institutions to jointly produce dramas. Therefore, the number of entrants in the production process can be said to be the largest and the most complex. Judging from the micro-short drama concept stock companies released by the Xueqiu community, there are even many game companies that have joined the battle, for example, Hippo Game under Zitian Technology and Qishu Youyu have launched interactive film and television game cooperation, the former is responsible for the content of the game, and the latter is responsible for the output of the film and television.
Judging from the incomplete statistics of the entire supply chain, there are currently nearly 50 listed companies that have entered the micro-short drama track.
B
The income is higher than that of movies, attracting veteran film and television players to enter the market
An actor who has starred in a short drama told a reporter from Nandu that the industry has become more and more volatile, which can be seen from the changes of short drama actors. "In the past, looking for actors was to pull people on the street to shoot and beg people to shoot, but now it is involved in the fact that someone will bring money into the group, and everyone wants to come when there are more opportunities. ”
Screenwriter Xiao Yang told a reporter from Nandu that recently, the industry's attention to short dramas has been focused on mini program short dramas. Xiao Yang revealed that although the cost of short dramas is lower, everyone still wants to find a lower-cost track. "Now everyone is rolling in the mini program track, just because the cost is lower, you can shoot one for more than 100,000 or 200,000 yuan, and you can shoot 100 episodes in two minutes. In addition to writing short drama scripts for C-end mini programs, Xiao Yang is also writing 10-minute high-quality drama scripts for traditional long video platforms.
Xiao Yang also observed that the reason why mini program short dramas are in full swing at present is that many industry players see the business opportunities after the short drama to C. "People see that it is low cost and at the same time it is profitable. The movie is also to C, but the income of the mini program short drama is now tens of millions of dollars, and the income is not less than that of the movie, and its production cycle cost and other risks are much smaller than that of the movie. ”
Chen Yixuan, CEO and president of Xingyu Pictures and head of the content division, told a reporter from Nandu that Xingyu Pictures is currently making a mini program short drama. According to her observation, although the production cost of short dramas is low, it focuses on a large number of users, and as long as there is demand, a variety of monetization business models can be developed, which is one of the reasons why people from all walks of life are currently pouring into this track.
Nandu reporters noticed that at present, many veteran film and television companies have entered the short drama track, such as Ningmeng Pictures has launched many micro-short dramas such as "Starting from Divorce", "One Yuan Beauty Salon" and "Twenty-Nine"; Happy Twist has produced a number of comedy micro-short dramas such as "Dear Didn't Expect It" and "I Really Want to Be Together" in the past two years; Wanda Film and Television has already laid out the short drama business and has cooperated with Mango TV's "Damang Project".
In terms of business model, the 10-minute high-quality dramas provided to the long video platform are still the traditional film and television account-sharing model, that is, after the film and television company makes the work, the platform will grade it and then share the account in the on-demand payment model, while the mini program short drama takes another business model. Chen Yixuan said that Xingyu Pictures focuses on user culture in content research and development, takes user needs as the creation system, develops and innovates content, and then shoots and produces content after content risk control, planning and other links. After the work is completed, cooperate with the streaming distribution company to edit the material and distribute it to Douyin, Kuaishou, video account and other places, and attract users to watch the movie from the link to the mini program platform to which it belongs, and the user can only unlock the remaining episodes after seeing a certain number of episodes of short dramas, and the company will then share it proportionally with the streaming party.
C
"After a week of filming, it will be launched in January, and a piece of wealth will be free"?
In 2022, the number of key online micro-short dramas in China was 172, and from July to September this year, the circulation of online micro-short dramas reached 150.
The large number of entrants also confirms the size of the market cake in the micro-short drama industry. Since July this year, there have been celebration cakes released by short drama companies circulating on social media, such as "Oops! The Queen Mother Comes to Work" exceeded 12 million in 24 hours, "After the flash marriage, Mr. Fu's vest can't be hidden" exceeded 20 million in 24 hours, and the consumption of "Wushuang" exceeded 55 million in 48 hours, etc.
The founder of a film and television company told a reporter from Nandu that most of the micro-short dramas on the market do not need a high level of production, and an 80-100 episode short drama may be completed at a cost of two or three hundred thousand yuan, compared with film and television dramas and movies with tens of millions of yuan of investment, the rate of return is extremely high. But she also emphasized that behind the seemingly crazy "myth of wealth creation", from the perspective of the industry as a whole, the majority of the people are still losing money. "Many companies have invested in dozens of bets, and if one of them can explode, the previous costs may be returned. ”
Nandu reporter investigation learned that at present, there are 5-6 main ways to make profits from online micro-short dramas, namely traffic sharing, platform purchasing, brand customization, advertising and e-commerce delivery, etc., among which traffic sharing is the main cooperation mode used by micro-short dramas on various platforms.
However, from the perspective of the capital flow of the entire industrial chain, "end-user recharge fees" and "advertiser placement" are the two main sources of profit for micro-short dramas. At the same time, advertisers can directly place advertisements or bring goods in the micro-short dramas, and they will also place patches or information flow advertisements on the platform for stream promotion.
The founder of the above-mentioned film and television company said that in fact, from the perspective of the producer or producer, its monetization methods can be simplified into the most important two: advertising and account sharing. From the perspective of distribution platforms, taking Kuaishou as an example, the core monetization models include: account-sharing rewards, brand investment, influencer advertising, live e-commerce, and paid content. From the perspective of the most important account-sharing model, taking the account-sharing policy of Kuaishou's short drama "Drama Star Plan" as an example, for episodes with a single episode of 1-5 minutes and a volume of 12-20 episodes, the guaranteed incentive amount of S-level projects is 200,000 yuan, with a cap of 1.5 million yuan, but the revenue is based on the broadcast volume of 1 million, and when the broadcast volume is greater than 1 million, the income is "total organic traffic - 1 million × episodes/1000×8".
In addition to the drama itself, micro-short dramas may also have derivative services for sale, such as the above-mentioned game companies, after entering the game, they can produce games corresponding to the series to attract users "krypton gold", as well as the sale of peripheral goods, live broadcast interaction of actors, etc.
"From the perspective of business model, the account-sharing model of the long video platform is similar. Short video platforms have greater support, such as production guarantees, high account sharing, traffic support, etc., as well as advertising or e-commerce monetization methods. Mini Program micro-short dramas are mainly paid by users. Fu Yalong concluded.
D
Advertising investment is tightened Some companies urgently set up a special investment department
However, the founder of the above-mentioned film and television company told the reporter that from the perspective of the entire commercialization process, platforms such as small programs, Douyin, and Kuaishou want to "eat" a large part of the profit of the stream, and whether the stream is accurate can basically determine whether a short drama can enter the "hit" traffic pool, which may account for more than seventy percent of the total expenditure cost. "That's why I said that it seems to be easy to make money on micro-short dramas, but in fact, most producers are still losing money, and the premise that you can earn it back is that you need to spend a lot of money on streaming fees first. ”
The phenomenon of "crazy investment" in the industry has also attracted the attention of regulatory authorities recently. It is reported that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television mentioned that in terms of detailed management of online micro-short dramas, it is necessary to establish a "blacklist" mechanism for small programs and a statistical mechanism for online micro-short drama pushing, and further optimize algorithm recommendations and improve the review mechanism for advertising pushing. Subsequently, Douyin Huge Advertising made an update notice on the qualification requirements for new customer entities that place short drama advertisements, requiring advertisers to promote short dramas must have three certificates, namely "Radio and Television Program Production and Business License", "Value-added Telecommunications Business License", "Information Network Transmission Audiovisual License" or "Online Culture Business License", which will take effect on November 23.
Douyin's new regulations on massive advertising emphasize that the entities of apps such as mini programs, quick apps, and apps that intend to place short drama advertisements must be the same as advertisers, and do not support proxy advertising. The so-called proxy investment refers to the fact that a streaming company that has not been qualified before can find a qualified company to authorize traffic delivery.
After the tightening of advertising streaming, some companies quickly set up streaming departments. In addition to inviting distribution companies to invest in streaming, Chen Yixuan also told reporters in Nandu that the company is currently building an internal investment team, and the reason for the construction comes from the tightening of the supervision of investment behavior on major platforms. Chen Yixuan said that if the company builds an investment team, although it will increase the company's operating costs, she believes that it can also focus on promoting the company's works in a more targeted manner.
Industry Spotlight
When the industry is running wildly, it ushered in a strong regulatory signal
The micro-short drama industry first sprouted in 2018, and after nearly five years of development, the size of China's micro-short drama market will reach 37.39 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 267.65%. According to the "2023-2024 China Micro Short Drama Market Analysis Report" released by iiMedia Consulting, it is expected that the size of China's micro short drama market will exceed 100 billion yuan in 2027.
Micro-short dramas are becoming more and more popular, but what cannot be ignored is that this kind of micro-short dramas that are not time-consuming to watch and have straightforward content are also spreading extremely quickly, and the harm is more likely to spread. For example, some micro-short dramas chase "excitement" and plot reversal, mixed with bloody, violent, and vulgar plots, and blindly amplify contradictions and provoke confrontation, which is undoubtedly a spiritual "poisonous chicken soup" for the masses and teenagers.
Recently, a series of intensive regulatory measures and regulations have been introduced, releasing a signal that the micro-short drama industry will develop in compliance in the future.
On November 15, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television announced that after the completion of the previous special rectification work, the governance of online micro-short dramas will be normalized, and will continue to improve the normalized management mechanism, increase management efforts and refine management measures from 7 aspects, including accelerating the formulation of the "Detailed Rules for the Creation and Production of Online Micro-short Dramas and Content Review", researching and promoting the inclusion of online micro-short drama apps and "Mini Programs" in daily institutional management, establishing a "blacklist" mechanism for Mini Programs, and a statistical mechanism for online micro-short dramas.
Then, on November 16, Douyin issued an announcement on cracking down on illegal micro-short dramas, and a total of 119 illegal micro-short dramas in the Mini Program have been removed from the shelves, and 1,188 Douyin accounts that illegally promote micro-short dramas have been disposed of. Prior to this, Kuaishou issued a special governance announcement on November 14 for illegal micro-short drama mini programs, removing more than 10 illegal micro-short dramas and punishing the corresponding 13 illegal accounts. WeChat announced on November 10 that the platform recently found through inspections and audits that some micro-short drama mini-programs had not been filed for compliance with the repertoire or had bad value-oriented content, so some illegal micro-short drama repertoire were removed from the shelves, and the relevant illegal mini programs were disposed of.
However, what has attracted great public attention to the industry this time is the removal of the popular micro-short drama "Black Lotus Upper Manual" from the whole network on November 21, and several major platforms sternly said that the show "exaggerates the bad values of extreme revenge and countering violence with violence, confuses the concept of right and wrong, and destroys the good ecology of the platform".
The producer behind the play, Shanghai Silver Land Culture Media Co., Ltd., was revealed to have many investment connections with the Internet celebrity Mimon's company, which can't help but make the outside world speculate that this may be the "approval" operation of the Mimeng team. This also shows from the side that the hot market of micro-short dramas is enough to attract this once controversial "top self-media" to share the soup.
In the view of Fu Yalong, deputy general manager of Yien Solutions, micro-short dramas have met the needs of users, opened up a new business track, and promoted the vigorous development of the pan-film and television entertainment industry. But the brutal growth of the industry and a series of chaos must also be rectified. "The entire industry must have bottom-line thinking, work together, and cherish the development opportunities and future of the micro-short drama industry. ”
Hot Spot Recap
On November 21, WeChat, Kuaishou, and Douyin successively issued the "<黑莲花>Announcement of Removal from the Shelves". The announcement pointed out that the reason for the removal of the show was "exaggerating the bad values of extreme revenge and countering violence with violence, confusing the concept of right and wrong, and destroying the good ecology of the platform". The platforms stated that this round of governance will severely crack down on illegal content such as pornography and vulgarity, bloody violence, low style, aesthetic vulgarity, and bad values.
According to public information, "Black Lotus Superior Manual" is adapted from the popular tomato novel "Zhaohua Chaos", which is produced by Shanghai Silver Land Culture Media Co., Ltd. Tianyancha shows that Silver Land is 100% controlled by Shanghai Another Beauty Culture Media Co., Ltd., which holds 99.99% of the shares and is owned by Zhang Jingsi. It has been reported that Zhang Jingsi was a shareholder and partner of Mimeng.
Aside from Mimeng's "aura", many netizens commented that the popularity of "Black Lotus Upper Manual" is inseparable from its "cool text" characteristics. In an internal learning material of the screenwriter team obtained by a reporter from Nandu, there are as many as 25 kinds of short drama subdivisions, and almost every one of them focuses on "cool". For example, the counterattack category focuses on "little people counterattack and slap people with higher status than themselves" to achieve "coolness", sadomasochism focuses on the coolness of "chasing wife crematorium", and son-in-law focuses on "looking down on the son-in-law has a big identity behind his back".
Producer: Nandu Political and Business Data News Department
Co-ordinator: Zhen Qin, Tian Aili
Written by: Nandu reporter Xu Bingqian Lin Wenqi
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