DataEye expects the AI short-drama market to exceed 40 billion yuan in 2026. Falling production costs are driving supply growth, while platform revenue sharing, incentives and licensing income are beginning to become competitive priorities for content providers.
Jimeng has launched an integrated short-drama studio, while solid-state battery policy and pilot-production progress are drawing attention; growth sectors led gains on 28 October, but a high rate of stocks falling back from their daily price limits constrains the rebound’s durability.
China released 13 times as many short dramas in the first eight months of 2026 as in all of 2025, but advertising budgets and viewing time have not kept pace with the expansion in supply, putting pressure on producers’ profits. Citi believes returns are more likely to accrue to businesses controlling traffic, quality rights and generation tools; opportunities to cut costs in long-form series and films are constrained by content quality and the costs of existing projects.
