Notice of the National Radio and Television Administration on the Public Solicitation of Opinions on the "Measures for the Development and Management

To further promote the prosperity of short micro-dramas, strengthen the new mass art under Internet conditions, and promote the healthy development of short micro-dramas, in accordance with administrative regulations such as the Regulations on Radio and Television Administration, the National Radio and Television Administration has organized the drafting of the Measures for the Development and Management of Short Micro-dramas (Draft for Comments), and is now soliciting comments from the public. The public can submit feedback through the following channels and methods:

1. Send an email to: nrcwdj@nrta.gov.cn.

2. Send your comments by post to: Department of Online Audio-Visual Programs, National Radio and Television Administration, No. 2, Fuxingmenwai Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100866. Please mark "Comments on the Measures for the Development and Management of Short Micro-dramas" on the envelope.

The deadline for feedback is July 23, 2026.

National Radio and Television Administration

June 24, 2026

Measures for the Development and Management of Short Micro-dramas

(Draft for Comments)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These measures are formulated in accordance with administrative regulations such as the Regulations on Radio and Television Administration to further promote the prosperity of short micro-dramas, strengthen the new mass art under Internet conditions, and promote the healthy development of short micro-dramas.

Article 2 Short micro-dramas referred to in these measures refer to dramas with a single-episode duration of less than twenty minutes, clear theme and main line, continuous and complete plot, and prominent characters.

These measures apply to short micro-dramas broadcast to the public within the territory of the People's Republic of China through broadcast channels such as Internet websites, Internet application programs and distribution platforms, radio and television channels and special zones, Internet TV, interactive network TV (IPTV), and cable TV, with receiving terminals such as televisions, mobile phones, tablets, computers, public electronic screens, smart (wearable) and in-vehicle devices.

Article 3 The creation and broadcast of short micro-dramas shall comply with the Constitution, laws, and administrative regulations. They shall adhere to the correct political direction, public opinion orientation, and value orientation. They shall adhere to serving the people and socialism, give top priority to social benefits, and integrate social and economic benefits. They shall respect original works, protect copyrights, conduct fair competition, and develop in a standardized manner.

Article 4 The radio and television competent department of the State Council is responsible for the management of short micro-dramas across the country, formulates the overall development plan and management policies for the short micro-drama industry across the country, coordinates the content construction, industry management, industrial development, and safety supervision of short micro-dramas across the country, conducts planning and broadcast regulation of short micro-dramas, and guides the formation of an industry ecosystem that adheres to the right path, innovates, is healthy, active, orderly, and has fair competition, so as to promote the standardized and prosperous development of the short micro-drama industry.

The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments are responsible for the management of short micro-dramas within their respective administrative regions, formulate development plans, and promote industrial development in light of the actual work in their regions. They shall guide the radio and television competent departments of local people's governments at or above the county level with conditions to jointly carry out the development and supervision and management of the short micro-drama industry within their jurisdictions.

Article 5 Short micro-dramas are classified into Category I, Category II, and Category III short micro-dramas according to investment amount, themes, etc. A filing and publicity system and a distribution license system shall be implemented for different categories.

Category I short micro-dramas refer to short micro-dramas with a relatively large investment amount or special themes (hereinafter referred to as special themes) whose main plot involves politics, military, diplomacy, national security, united front, ethnicity, religion, justice, public security, etc. Category II short micro-dramas refer to short micro-dramas with a relatively small investment amount and general themes. Category III short micro-dramas refer to short micro-dramas with a low investment amount and general themes. The classification standards shall be formulated by the radio and television competent department of the State Council and adjusted in a timely manner in light of the actual development of the industry.

Article 6 Innovation in the artistic expression, dissemination methods, application of new technologies, business models, etc. of short micro-dramas is encouraged.

The general public is encouraged and supported to participate in the creation of short micro-dramas to stimulate the innovation and creativity of short micro-dramas as a new mass art under Internet conditions.

The creation and broadcast of excellent short micro-dramas are encouraged and supported. The radio and television competent departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall provide necessary convenience and assistance for short micro-drama creators to go deep into the grassroots, among the people, and experience life according to the needs of short micro-drama creation. The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above shall provide necessary support for the online broadcast of short micro-dramas included in key support.

Article 7 Short micro-dramas are encouraged to be combined with various fields and industries in the economic and social sectors to form new application scenarios, business models, and economic formats, so as to promote short micro-dramas to empower all industries.

Article 8 Support is provided for the creation, production, and dissemination of export-oriented short micro-dramas, convenience is provided for overseas creative personnel to participate in the creation of short micro-dramas, and the simultaneous broadcast of excellent short micro-dramas at home and abroad is supported. The short micro-drama industry is encouraged and supported to carry out equal and mutually beneficial international exchanges and cooperation to promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and foreign countries.

Article 9 The radio and television competent departments shall commend and reward excellent short micro-dramas and organizations, institutions, and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the development of short micro-dramas in accordance with relevant national regulations on award evaluation, so as to guide the formation of a social environment that respects creation and encourage the whole society to care about and support the development of short micro-dramas.

Article 10 Intellectual property rights related to short micro-dramas are protected by law, and no organization or individual shall infringe upon them.

Organizations and individuals engaged in short micro-drama activities shall enhance their awareness of intellectual property rights and improve their ability to create, use, protect, manage, and serve intellectual property rights. The industry is encouraged to innovate copyright service models. The copyright protection system related to short micro-dramas shall be improved in conjunction with relevant departments.

Article 11 Social organizations such as the Online Audio-Visual Program Service Association shall carry out self-regulation in the short micro-drama industry in accordance with their articles of association and work under the guidance of the radio and television competent departments.

Chapter II Filing and Publicity

Article 12 A filing and publicity system shall be implemented for the shooting and production of Category I short micro-dramas. The filing and publicity system for Category I short micro-dramas may be applied by reference to the shooting and production of Category II short micro-dramas.

Production institutions shall apply for filing and publicity with the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above before shooting and producing Category I short micro-dramas.

Article 13 The radio and television competent department of the State Council is responsible for the filing of Category I short micro-dramas shot and produced by institutions directly reporting to the radio and television competent department of the State Council (hereinafter referred to as directly reporting institutions) in accordance with relevant regulations and the publicity of all Category I short micro-dramas shot and produced across the country.

The radio and television competent department of the State Council may entrust the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments to implement the filing of Category I short micro-dramas shot and produced by directly reporting institutions.

The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments are responsible for reviewing the filings of Category I short micro-dramas produced by production institutions within their administrative regions or entrusted by the radio and television competent department of the State Council, and shall submit them to the radio and television competent department of the State Council for publicity after review.

The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments may implement the filing and publicity of Category II short micro-dramas within their administrative regions by reference to these measures and formulate implementation rules. The rules shall follow the laws of short micro-drama creation and production.

Article 14 Institutions applying for the filing and publicity of Category I short micro-dramas shall be production institutions holding the License for the Production and Operation of Radio and Television Programs or legally established radio and television broadcast institutions. When applying, they shall submit materials such as the Application Form for the Filing and Publicity of Short Micro-dramas and a synopsis of the plot.

The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above shall review the application materials. For Category I short micro-dramas with special themes, if the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above deem it necessary, they shall seek the opinions of relevant competent departments or relevant parties.

The radio and television competent department of the State Council shall review the application materials reviewed by the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above or the application materials submitted by directly reporting institutions and then conduct online publicity. The publicity content shall include the title of the drama, the production institution, etc.

Article 15 Short micro-dramas whose content violates these measures in the application for filing and publicity shall not be publicized.

Article 16 Production institutions shall produce Category I short micro-dramas in accordance with the filed content.

If a production institution changes the main character positioning or the overall plot direction of a publicized Category I short micro-drama, it shall go through the filing procedures again in accordance with these measures; if it changes the title of the drama or the production institution, it shall report to the radio and television competent department of the provincial-level people's government and above where the filing was made to handle the relevant change procedures.

Chapter III Review and Approval

Article 17 Category I and Category II short micro-dramas that have been shot and produced shall apply to the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above for content review and distribution licenses before broadcast. For Category I short micro-dramas that pass the review, the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above shall issue the License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas. For Category II short micro-dramas that pass the review, the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments shall issue approval documents. Category III short micro-dramas shall be subject to content management by eligible broadcast units, reviewed before broadcast, and marked with program numbers.

The License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas shall be uniformly printed by the radio and television competent department of the State Council. The numbering rules for the approval documents of Category II short micro-dramas shall be uniformly formulated by the radio and television competent department of the State Council.

Short micro-dramas that have not obtained the License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas, approval documents in accordance with these measures, or have not been reviewed by the broadcast unit and marked with program numbers shall not be broadcast or participate in award evaluation.

Article 18 The radio and television competent department of the State Council is responsible for reviewing Category I and Category II short micro-dramas shot and produced by directly reporting institutions.

The radio and television competent department of the State Council may entrust the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments to review Category I short micro-dramas shot and produced by directly reporting institutions.

The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments are responsible for reviewing Category I and Category II short micro-dramas produced by production institutions within their administrative regions and Category I and Category II short micro-dramas entrusted by the radio and television competent department of the State Council for review.

Article 19 When submitting a Category I short micro-drama for review, an application shall be made to the radio and television administrative department of the provincial-level people's government and above, and the following materials shall be submitted:

(1) The Application Form for the Review of Category I Short Micro-dramas;

(2) The License for the Production and Operation of Radio and Television Programs or the License for Radio and Television Broadcast Institutions;

(3) A sample video with images, sounds, subtitles, time codes, etc. that meet the review requirements;

(4) A list of subtitles for the opening and ending credits and songs;

(5) A copy of the approval document from the radio and television competent department for the employment of overseas personnel to participate in the production of the short micro-drama.

For Category I short micro-dramas with special themes, if the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above deem it necessary, they shall seek the opinions of relevant competent departments or relevant parties.

Article 20 The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above shall make a decision on whether to grant approval or not within twenty days from the date of accepting the application for a Category I short micro-drama, of which the time for organizing expert review is ten days. If approval is granted, the applicant shall be issued the License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas; if approval is not granted, the applicant shall be notified in writing and the reasons shall be stated; if revisions are required, the revision opinions shall be notified to the applicant in writing, and the applicant shall resubmit the short micro-drama for review after completing the revisions.

Article 21 If an institution has applied to the radio and television competent department for review but has not obtained a distribution license or has been denied approval, it shall not transfer the short micro-drama for review to other radio and television competent departments.

Article 22 The radio and television competent department of the State Council may make a decision to order revisions, stop broadcast, or prohibit distribution, promotion, award evaluation, or participation in international exchanges in the public interest.

Article 23 The radio and television competent departments shall regularly announce to the public the issuance of the License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas for Category I short micro-dramas.

Article 24 The radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above shall implement the review and approval of Category II short micro-dramas by reference to these measures and are encouraged to optimize the review process, simplify the application materials, and improve the review efficiency according to the actual situation in their regions.

Chapter IV Standards and Norms

Article 25 Short micro-dramas shall not contain the following content:

(1) Violating the basic principles established by the Constitution and inciting resistance or destruction of the implementation of the Constitution, laws, administrative regulations, and rules;

(2) Endangering national unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, disclosing state secrets, endangering national security, damaging national dignity, honor, and interests, and promoting terrorism and extremism;

(3) Inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination, infringing upon ethnic customs and habits, distorting ethnic history or ethnic historical figures, hurting ethnic feelings, and undermining ethnic unity;

(4) Slandering excellent traditional Chinese culture, distorting or denying revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture, promoting cultural nihilism and historical nihilism, and defaming and desecrating the deeds and spirits of heroes and martyrs;

(5) Violating national religious policies, promoting cults and superstition, and discriminating against or insulting religious beliefs;

(6) Infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of minors or endangering the physical and mental health of minors;

(7) Insulting, slandering others, or spreading others' privacy and damaging others' legitimate rights and interests and public interests;

(8) Promoting the destruction of ecological environment protection and endangering public health;

(9) Promoting obscenity, gambling, drug use, money worship, and extravagance, promoting discrimination based on race, nationality, region, gender, occupation, physical and mental disabilities, etc., and other content that endangers social morality and violates public order and good customs;

(10) Spreading false information, exaggerating violence and terrorism, instigating crime or teaching criminal methods, and other content that disrupts social order;

(11) Other content prohibited by laws, administrative regulations, and rules.

Article 26 The titles, lines, subtitles, etc. of short micro-dramas shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Comply with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language and relevant laws and regulations, use the standard spoken and written Chinese language as the basic language and characters. Dialects may be used if necessary for artistic purposes;

(2) The standard spoken and written Chinese language used shall comply with relevant national norms and standards;

(3) The usage of relevant special symbols, callsigns, designations, and terms shall be based on the usage clearly stipulated in relevant national laws and regulations;

(4) Chinese subtitles shall be added to the lyrics of foreign-language songs, foreign-language titles and lines, foreign-language words and symbols with specific meanings, etc.

Article 27 The information labeling of short micro-dramas shall meet the following requirements:

(1) The title of the drama, license number, approval document number, and program number shall be marked in a prominent position at the beginning of the drama. The display method may be presented separately or integrated with the plot according to the total duration, plot setting, and dissemination characteristics of a specific type of short micro-drama.

(2) The signatures of the screenwriter, director, and other personnel shall be placed in a prominent position in the opening credits of the first episode or the closing credits of the last episode. The way and order of the signatures of the cast and crew in the drama shall be agreed upon in the contract.

Article 28 The promotion information of short micro-dramas shall be compatible with the content of the short micro-dramas and shall not contain content that violates the provisions of Articles 25 and 26 of these measures.

Chapter V Broadcast Requirements

Article 29 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall legally obtain the qualifications for engaging in relevant radio and television or online audio-visual program services.

Article 30 The radio and television competent department of the State Council shall conduct macro-control over the proportion, timing, time slots, and key recommendations of short micro-dramas broadcast.

Article 31 Category I and Category II short micro-dramas shall be broadcast in accordance with the content approved. It is encouraged to prioritize the broadcast of short micro-dramas that have obtained the License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas and approval documents.

Article 32 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall establish and implement the content responsibility system of the chief editor, establish and improve the review and approval mechanism and the full-process responsibility tracing mechanism for content security. The chief editor shall be fully responsible for the content quality of short micro-dramas. The candidate for the chief editor shall meet the requirements of the radio and television competent department and be reported to the radio and television competent departments of the State Council and provincial-level people's governments.

Article 33 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall fulfill the following main responsibilities to ensure the standardized dissemination of short micro-dramas:

(1) For Category I and Category II short micro-dramas, the License for the Distribution of Short Micro-dramas or approval documents shall be verified before broadcast;

(2) For Category III short micro-dramas, they shall be reviewed in accordance with these measures before broadcast, and relevant drama information and program numbers shall be reported to the radio and television competent department through the online system simultaneously. For non-exclusive Category III short micro-dramas, the broadcast unit shall mark the program number of its own unit according to its own review version and shall not use the program numbers of other broadcast units;

(3) For non-professionally produced online audio-visual content with short total duration and characteristics of short micro-dramas, short micro-drama broadcast units shall fulfill content management responsibilities and improve content security management measures such as information inspection and emergency response;

(4) A credit evaluation system shall be established for key accounts that disseminate short micro-dramas, and key management shall be implemented.

Article 34 For short micro-dramas generated and produced using artificial intelligence technology, production institutions and broadcast units shall comply with relevant national regulations and add a prompt mark in a prominent position in each episode in accordance with relevant regulations.

Article 35 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall re-review the Category III short micro-dramas they re-broadcast in accordance with the review standards stipulated in these measures.

Article 36 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall not provide services for short micro-dramas that violate the provisions of Article 25 of these measures. If problems are found, they shall immediately take measures such as stopping broadcast, disconnecting links, taking offline, and stopping access.

Article 37 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall regularly review, evaluate, and verify the algorithm mechanism, model, data, and application results, etc., give priority to recommending high-quality short micro-dramas, and shall not use algorithm models that induce users to be addicted or over-consume.

Article 38 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall conduct regular inspections on the implementation of these measures by short micro-drama content providers and promoters. They shall establish a hierarchical management system and an exit mechanism based on indicators such as content quantity, user quantity, and daily traffic, and take corresponding management measures to prevent content risks.

Article 39 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall fulfill their obligations to protect data security in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 40 Short micro-drama broadcast units shall sign user agreements with users registered on their platforms in accordance with relevant national regulations to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties. When providing paid content, relevant charging information shall be clearly informed, and the legitimate rights and interests of consumers shall be protected in accordance with the law.

Chapter VI Supervision and Management

Article 41 The radio and television competent departments shall carry out supervision and inspection, emergency response, administrative law enforcement, etc. of short micro-dramas in accordance with laws and regulations through daily inspections and key spot checks.

Short micro-drama creation, promotion, and broadcast units shall cooperate with the supervision and management work carried out by the radio and television competent departments in accordance with the law.

The radio and television competent departments shall make public the ways to accept reports. After receiving reports, they shall handle them in accordance with the law.

Article 42 The radio and television competent department of the State Council shall guide radio and television administrative departments at all levels and industry associations such as the Online Audio-Visual Program Service Association to conduct training for short micro-drama practitioners to improve their ability to review and approve content.

Short micro-drama creation, promotion, and broadcast units shall organize training for their own practitioners.

Article 43 Short micro-drama creation, promotion, and broadcast units shall cooperate with the radio and television competent departments in carrying out statistical survey work in accordance with the law, conscientiously fulfill their statutory statistical obligations, provide true, accurate, complete, and timely statistical data, and provide necessary support for the radio and television competent departments to carry out data statistical analysis.

Chapter VII Legal Liability

Article 44 Those who violate these measures and broadcast short micro-dramas without permission shall be punished in accordance with Article 50 of the Regulations on Radio and Television Administration.

Article 45 Those who violate these measures by producing, promoting, or broadcasting content prohibited in Article 25 of these measures shall be ordered by the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above to make corrections. They may be required to suspend the update of program content. If the circumstances are serious, they shall be punished in accordance with Article 49 of the Regulations on Radio and Television Administration.

Article 46 Those who violate these measures by producing short micro-dramas not in accordance with the filed content, broadcasting short micro-dramas not in accordance with the approved content, or transferring short micro-dramas for review shall be ordered by the radio and television competent departments of provincial-level people's governments and above to make corrections, given a warning or circulated for criticism, and may be fined not more than 100,000 yuan.

Article 47 If an administrative license is obtained by improper means such as deception or bribery, the administrative license shall be revoked.

Article 48 If a staff member of the radio and television competent department violates these measures, abuses power, neglects duties, engages in malpractice for personal gain, or fails to perform duties in accordance with these measures, they shall be given a disciplinary sanction in accordance with the law.

Article 49 Those who conceal relevant information, provide false materials and data, or refuse to provide materials and data to the radio and television competent department responsible for supervision and inspection shall be ordered by the radio and television competent department of the local people's government at or above the county level to make corrections, given a warning or circulated for criticism.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 50 For short micro-dramas that do not meet the standards of Category I or Category II short micro-dramas stipulated in these measures but voluntarily apply for filing and publicity and review of completed dramas as Category I or Category II short micro-dramas, the relevant management requirements of these measures shall be implemented.

Article 51 The management of short micro-dramas on major revolutionary and historical themes shall be implemented in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 52 If there are other provisions in laws, administrative regulations, and documents of the State Council, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 53 These measures shall come into force as of [date].

Source: Website of the National Radio and Television Administration