From sabre-rattling to handshakes and long video platforms, there are "short drama dreams"

Every reporter: Bi Yuanyuan Every editor: Liang Xiao

Long and short video platforms were originally active in the two tracks, but in the past year or so, the cooperation between these two fields has become increasingly frequent. From competitors to handshakes, such scenes are not uncommon.

On December 14th, with the theme of "Horizontal and Vertical Wind", Mango TV and Douyin released the "Boutique Short Drama Support Plan", and the two sides announced that they would take the joint development of short dramas as the incision, and then promote in-depth cooperation in many aspects such as second creation video and brand marketing.

Image source: Photo by reporter Bi Yuanyuan

Since then, Douyin has reached cooperation with Sohu, iQiyi and Tencent Video, opening a new chapter in the linkage promotion of long and short videos and the secondary creation of short videos.

For the first time since 2019, the time spent by Chinese short video users has surpassed that of long videos. In the face of this trend, long video platforms are eager to seek new growth points. This year, skits are once again popular, and the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. In this case, long-form video platforms that embrace micro-short dramas choose to cooperate with short video platforms to jointly respond to market challenges by making copyrighted content a source of living water.

Zhang Yi, chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, said in an interview with the WeChat reporter of "Daily Economic News" that the investment cost of long dramas is high and the income uncertainty is strong, so the long video platform needs to seek new breakthroughs, and for Douyin, although the traffic is bursting, it also needs to seek a compliant content gatekeeper.

The market for micro-short dramas is hot, and the market size is expected to reach 100 billion in 2027

At this press conference, Mango TV signed a cooperation agreement with Douyin and focused on the release of the "Boutique Short Drama Support Plan". In the next three years, the two sides will focus on ten themes, including new national style, new youth, new life, new occupation, new technology, new humanities, new countryside, new competition, new ecology and new health, and encourage the development and production of high-quality short dramas for the industry.

China's online micro-short drama market will show a hot trend in 2023, and short dramas of various genres will grow explosively, gradually occupying an important position in the entertainment industry. According to iiMedia Research, the market size of China's online micro-short dramas will be 37.39 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 267.65%, and the market size is expected to reach 100 billion yuan in 2027.

At the same time, the data shows that the number of domestic online micro-short dramas in China is on the rise, with the number of online micro-short dramas distributed reaching 150 in July ~ September this year, and the number of episodes released reaching 3,311 episodes.

Both long and short video platforms have set their sights on this fertile soil. As early as 2019, Mango Video announced the "Damang Project", and successively produced short dramas such as "Attack on the Queen", "Nian Nian Ignorance", "False Face" and "Wind and Moon Change";

The survey shows that at present, the Chinese short drama market is mostly "cool" as the core, and most of the themes revolve around the plot of "slapping the face", including the adaptation of the God of War novel, ancient travel, rebirth counterattack and other themes, and some videos have a large number of "earthy" and "bloody" content, and the homogenization of the overall market content is obvious. At present, the online micro-short drama market is developing rapidly, but the market competition is intensifying, and it is experiencing a period of brutal development.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Hunan Satellite TV, Mango Supermedia (300413. SZ, share price 29.28 yuan, market value 54.775 billion yuan) Chairman Cai Huaijun said that long and short video is the main front of online audiovisual communication, and the cooperation between long and short video platforms is developing in depth, which is an accelerator to promote the high-quality development of the online audiovisual industry.

At present, Hunan Radio and Television has built a super mango ecology of Hunan Satellite TV, Mango TV, Golden Eagle Cartoon, and Xiaomang e-commerce "1+1+1+1+N". In addition to the joint release of the "Boutique Short Drama Support Plan", the two sides will also explore the second creation of short videos and brand marketing, etc., and explore the cooperation space of the industrial chain and value chain.

Zhang Fu, vice president and editor-in-chief of Douyin Group, commented that the prosperity of micro-short dramas has provided a new stage for online film and television creators, production institutions, video platforms, users and other participants, and has positive industry value. This cooperation will help both parties create high-quality content in micro-short dramas through special funds, traffic incentives and other support means.

From sabre-rattling to handshakes, long and short videos have their own needs

Long and short video platforms once "well water does not interfere with river water". However, over the past year or so, the audience has witnessed the evolution of the two from "hostile" to "cooperative" to "exploratory".

In March 2022, Douyin reached a cooperation with Sohu and obtained the relevant authorization for the secondary creation of all Sohu's self-made film and television works. According to the content of the cooperation between the two parties, the Douyin platform and users can re-edit, arrange or adapt the relevant film and television works. In the future, the two sides will continue to carry out cooperation in the promotion of new dramas, such as creative marketing or video collection;In July 2022, Douyin and iQiyi reached a cooperation, and the two sides explored the secondary creation and promotion of long video content;On April 7 this year, Douyin announced that it had reached a cooperation with Tencent Video, and the two sides will explore the linkage promotion of long and short videos, and the secondary creation of short videos.

At present, in addition to Youku, several major long videos have broken the ice and held hands with short video platforms, as if ushering in a great reconciliation.

The traffic thirst of long video platforms for short video platforms stems from the continuous growth of short video users. According to the 2019 China TV Drama (Online Drama) Industry Survey Report, the usage time of short video users in China exceeded that of long video for the first time. According to the latest "2023 China Online Audiovisual Development Research Report", nearly a quarter of new netizens have access to the Internet because of short videos, and the ability of short videos to "recruit new" far exceeds instant messaging. Among the new Internet users, 24.3% of them used short video apps for the first time, which distanced them from other apps. As of December 2022, the number of short video users reached 1.012 billion, a year-on-year increase of 77.7 million, a growth rate of 8.3%, accounting for 94.8% of the overall Internet users.

In Zhang Yi's view, long and short video cooperation is inevitable. Taking Mango TV as an example, traditional long-form video platforms used to rely mainly on content, membership and advertising revenue. But the high investment and uncertainty of long-term dramas have made them start looking for new growth opportunities. In this context, partnering with a short video platform has become an ideal choice.

Not only that, but a number of long-form video platforms have also made a profit in the near future. For example, Mango Supermedia's revenue in the third quarter of 2023 was 3.507 billion yuan, and the net profit attributable to the parent company was 515 million yuan, iQiyi achieved profitability for three consecutive quarters in 2023, and Tencent Video also announced profits for four consecutive quarters.

iQIYI founder and CEO Gong Yu responded at the financial report meeting that negotiations with Douyin have lasted several months, and iQIYI has cash income in addition to diversion of users and members through Douyin. Gong Yu said that the cooperation with Douyin has not only brought the diversion of users and members, but also cash income.

Zhang Yi said that although Douyin has huge traffic and experience in the production of popular short dramas, there are still shortcomings in plot dissemination and compliance. Therefore, in-depth cooperation with institutions with radio and television backgrounds to check the content and compliance of their short dramas has become an urgent need for Douyin.

National Business Daily