Chinese micro-short dramas are emerging as the fourth major new global business format of audio-visual products.

On October 20, during the China-ASEAN Audiovisual Week held in Beihai, Guangxi, the Development Research Center of the National Radio and Television Administration and the Guangxi Radio and Television Bureau jointly released the *China-ASEAN Micro Drama International Communication Development Report*. The report shows that micro dramas, as a new online audiovisual business form originated in China, are changing the global audiovisual ecosystem at an astonishing speed, and have become the fourth major global audiovisual product form following American films, Japanese animations and Korean TV series. The continuously deepening China-ASEAN micro drama cooperation has become an important carrier for China-ASEAN digital economic cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

The report points out that the market size of China's micro drama industry maintains rapid growth. In 2025, a total of 33,000 micro dramas were launched and broadcast across the country. From January to September 2026, the number of launched micro dramas reached 490,000, which is 13 times the total number of 2025. The number of micro drama users has reached 850 million, with more than 600 million monthly active users, making micro drama an important part of netizens' spiritual and cultural life.

The overseas market also boasts strong growth momentum. In 2026, the size of the overseas micro drama market outside China will exceed 6 billion US dollars, representing a 67% year-on-year increase compared with 2025. Platforms with Chinese backgrounds dominate the global market: from January to September 2026, all of the top 10 micro drama apps by download volume in the overseas market are backed by Chinese entities, and 9 out of the top 10 platforms by in-app purchase revenue have Chinese backgrounds.

The structure of Chinese micro dramas going global is adjusting rapidly. First, the proportion of local dramas has risen slightly. The share of local dramas increased from 5% in May 2026 to 11% in September, while the share of translated dramas dropped from 95% to 89%. Second, the proportion of AI-generated dramas has grown significantly. By the end of September, AI-generated dramas accounted for more than 60% of all Chinese micro dramas released overseas.

The report looks ahead that the next 3 to 5 years will be a critical period for the development of the regional micro drama industry, which will generally present development trends including continuous expansion of market size, deepened cooperation across the whole industrial chain, and more flexible and diverse business models.

The article is sourced from CCTV News