Policies have been introduced in many places to support the "going global" of micro-short dramas.

　　Since 2026, the "going global" of short web dramas has received favorable policy support. In March alone, many places have introduced relevant support policies to help Chinese short web dramas go overseas.

　　Specifically, on March 17, the "Operating Procedures for the Short Web Drama Support Program of the Project to Promote the High - quality Development of the Digital Creative Industry by the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports" was issued. The "going global" projects can receive a maximum subsidy of 3 million yuan. The subsidy for science - fiction themed works will be increased by 50%, and an additional maximum subsidy of 2 million yuan will be provided for works applying new technologies such as AIGC.

　　Liu Zun, the research director of the DataEye Research Institute, told a reporter from Securities Daily that Shenzhen's policy this time focuses on "going global" and achieving profits, directly addressing the pain points of the industry, breaking the single support logic, and truly encouraging projects that can achieve continuous commercial profits to go abroad.

　　On March 10, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism launched the Shanghai Short Web Drama "Flowers in Bloom" 3.0 Plan, making all - out efforts around the three core aspects of content review, production services, and industrial support. It will further simplify the review procedures and shorten the review time, helping short web drama enterprises enrich their program reserves and recover funds as soon as possible. For the planning and filing and the online filing of completed films, the review will be conducted on a first - come, first - served basis on working days. A "2 + 5" review mechanism will be implemented, that is, the review of the planning and filing will be completed and feedback will be provided within 2 working days, and the review of the online filing of completed films will be completed and feedback will be provided within 5 working days. A one - stop service alliance called "Shoot in Shanghai" will also be established, and the "Shanghai Short Web Drama Shooting Guide (2026 Edition)" will be released for the first time. 96 new shooting scenes suitable for short web dramas will be selected, and a sound recommendation mechanism for shooting locations will be established.

　　In addition, Shanghai Pudong New Area will build a high - ground for the AI comic drama industry and create a base for short web dramas to "go global". Special policies will provide a maximum platform subsidy of 5 million yuan and content support of 6 million yuan.

　　In fact, the overseas short web drama market is undergoing profound changes. Data from DataEye shows that the scale of the overseas short web drama market reached 4 billion US dollars in 2025 and is expected to rise to 5 billion US dollars in 2026. Along with the high - speed growth, the market is also facing new challenges.

　　Lin Qiwen, the vice - president of DataEye, said: "The market has entered the reshuffle and adjustment stage from high - speed growth. The pattern where the strong get stronger is relatively fixed, and it is relatively difficult for new players to enter."

　　"China's leading position in this field mainly comes from the advantages of the first - mover model and the barriers of mature traffic - investment algorithms, which are difficult for overseas manufacturers to replicate in the short term. However, this advantage is not stable," Liu Zun said. Chinese short web drama manufacturers must accelerate the transformation towards high - quality products, in - depth localization, and the construction of original IP capabilities, and shift from model output to content and industrialization - ability output to build a long - term moat. (Source: Securities Daily  Reporter: Li Haoyue)