In the upcoming October, the domestic short drama sector will see a batch of platform support rules take effect in a concentrated manner. In September, Youku, Douyin, and WeChat successively released short drama incentive plans. Among them, the new rules of Douyin and Youku officially took effect on October 1; the WeChat mini-program short drama incentive campaign runs from October 16 to December 31. The new policies of the three platforms each have different focuses, but all send a signal of supporting high-quality short drama content, and it was found that live-action short dramas have become the key beneficiary direction of this round of incentive rules.
Specifically, on September 29, Youku released its 2026 vertical-format short drama incentive rules, applicable to newly launched vertical-screen short dramas thereafter, with the campaign period running until March 31, 2027. The platform adopts a comprehensive heat value scoring system, consolidates monthly data by entity, and sets tiered bonuses, with a single partner receiving up to 100,000 yuan per month, which is an additional incentive beyond revenue sharing. Although Youku's rules do not mandatorily require that productions must be live-action, the heat value model incorporates actor popularity indicators, making it easier for live-action short dramas to drive up heat scores and reach higher bonus tiers.
Douyin Group's short drama copyright center, on September 23, upgraded its "live-action high-quality short drama incentive campaign," and first-run live-action short dramas listed from October 1 are included by default. Both exclusive broadcast and ordinary authorized productions can apply, with requirements being vertical screen and a total duration of no less than 70 minutes. Assessment is based on data performance under the natural free mode within 30 days after the series goes online, which is a shortened assessment cycle compared with the old version and a further expansion of coverage. This rule specifically targets live-action short dramas and sets tiered incentives based on natural free revenue, with a maximum incentive of 600,000 yuan per short drama, making it the rule with the clearest support orientation for live-action short dramas among the three platforms.
Also on September 23, the WeChat Open Platform, together with WeChat Marketing, launched a mini-program short drama incentive campaign, divided into two major sections: mini-program incentives for short drama IAA (in-app advertising monetization model) and incentives for the official Green Bubble short drama mini-program, with up to 100% revenue incentives, and incentive settlement based on users' viewing duration. Although at the rule level WeChat does not distinguish between live-action short dramas and AI (artificial intelligence) simulated-human short dramas, and both types can apply, WeChat's assessment mentions average viewing duration per person. A short drama industry practitioner revealed to a Securities Daily reporter that live-action short dramas usually find it easier to meet the duration threshold and obtain higher incentive tiers.
Research from the DataEye Research Institute shows that compared with AI animated dramas, live-action content has clear advantages in user retention, completion rate, and long-term willingness to pay, especially among middle-aged and older audiences, lower-tier markets, and core urban female user groups, where penetration and loyalty are significantly higher. Behind the platforms' increased support for live-action short dramas is the reality of operational pressure in the industry. The 2026 semi-annual reports disclosed that many listed companies involved in short drama business performed below expectations. Dasheng Times Culture Investment Co., Ltd. saw revenue growth in its short drama business in the first half of the year, but promotion and distribution expenses rose sharply, and the company recorded a loss; H&R Century Union Corporation's AI short drama business revenue accounted for less than 1% of overall revenue in the first half and has not yet formed scaled returns; Shanghai Xinju Network Information Technology Co., Ltd. mentioned that its short drama production and marketing business saw gross margin decline year-on-year due to intensifying industry competition.
"The industry has shown a problem of explosive AI short drama capacity but an extremely low hit rate. A large number of low-cost AI short dramas find it difficult to achieve profitability, and both companies and platforms have begun to re-examine the commercial value of live-action short dramas," the practitioner said.
The policy side has also released clear guidance. On September 17, the State Council Information Office held a press conference in the "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" series, at which Wang Xiaoliang, director of the Network Audiovisual Program Management Department of the National Radio and Television Administration, said that it will deeply implement the "micro short drama premium creation and dissemination plan," guide platforms to open dedicated sections for live-action dramas, invest funds to support high-quality live-action micro short dramas, and enable good works to obtain corresponding market returns.
Yang Huaiyu, a senior researcher at Shanghai Xiazhi Liangshi Consulting Management Co., Ltd., told a Securities Daily reporter that live-action short dramas are an indispensable core pillar of the micro short drama industry and the foundation for the long-term development of the sector. The emotional appeal brought by live-action performances and the delicate texture of character portrayal are key to short dramas continuously attracting users and building long-term reputation. However, supporting live-action short dramas does not mean rejecting AI short dramas; the two are not an either-or opposition. AI technology can serve as a creative tool to reduce the cost of script trial and error and visual production, and serve the premium production of short dramas.