Here’s the deal, folks. On May 12th, the Douyin Group’s Short Drama Copyright Center hosted its first-ever Short Drama Industry Conference. Honestly, it was a big deal. Lei Li, the chief editor of Hongguo Short Drama, announced that the Douyin Group will continue to invest in and support the development of live-action short dramas.
Recently, the Short Drama Copyright Center has rolled out several initiatives to support live-action short dramas. These include increasing the content revenue share for core categories of live-action dramas; setting up a head drama incentive policy with a maximum of 1.5 million yuan per episode; offering up to 20% incentives for sequels; and establishing a 200 million yuan special fund to support realistic, suspenseful, and urban-themed content.
According to the person in charge, the guaranteed support budget for live-action short dramas in 2026 will exceed 1.5 billion yuan, with an average guaranteed amount per episode increasing by about 60% compared to last year.
