On August 18, the film and television sector experienced a long-awaited explosive surge: Zhejiang Huazhi Digital Media Co., Ltd. (300426.SZ), Zhejiang Huace Film&Tv Co.,Ltd. (300133.SZ), Ciwen Media Co.,Ltd. (002343.SZ), Jishi Media Co.,Ltd. (601929.SH), H&R Century Union Corporation (000892.SZ) and multiple other stocks hit daily limits. The surge in film and TV stocks was closely related to widely circulated content over the weekend called "Several Measures on TV Series Creation by the General Administration (21 Articles)" (hereinafter referred to as "Radio and Television 21 Regulations").

Multiple sources confirmed to reporters that the relevant news is authentic, and on August 18, the National Radio and Television Administration specifically held a two-hour video conference to interpret the specific content. "All local (radio and television) bureaus and representative enterprises participated," said a film company executive who attended the meeting. The conference content included breaking the 40-episode limit, lifting seasonal drama interval restrictions, relaxing period drama broadcast ratio restrictions, with each provision precisely addressing industry pain points.

Multiple film and television industry professionals told reporters directly that after experiencing multiple blows including platform procurement tightening, episode limit restrictions, and capital withdrawal, the TV drama industry has long been trapped in a predicament where "short dramas squeeze the survival space of long-form dramas" and "both production volume and audience are being lost." Regarding the Radio and Television 21 Regulations, they exclaimed that "the policy's 'timely rain' has arrived."

So which companies will be first to benefit from these dividends? What impact will the Radio and Television 21 Regulations have on content creation, platform scheduling, and capital deployment? According to interviews, opinion collection on related measures has already been underway in the industry, and with the "wind direction" that came last week, the film and TV drama market quickly heated up. "I just arrived in Hengdian today, and the restaurant reservation volume is obviously much more robust than when I came two weeks ago," Zhao Bin, Chairman and General Manager of Chengdu Tianfu Kuanzhai Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., told reporters that multiple production crews are accelerating their startup preparations.

Film and TV Stocks Surge Collectively, Sector Sees Net Capital Inflow Exceeding 10 Billion Yuan

On August 18, film and television sector stock prices rose comprehensively. Wind data shows that by market close, the Cultural Media Index rose 3.11%, ranking third among all industry sectors for the day after only the Communications Equipment Index and Software Index, with net capital inflow of 10.257 billion yuan.

Individual stocks within the sector performed strongly, with Zhejiang Huazhi Digital Media Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Huace Film&Tv Co.,Ltd., Ciwen Media Co.,Ltd., Jishi Media Co.,Ltd., and H&R Century Union Corporation hitting daily limits. Mango Excellent Media Co.,Ltd. (300413.SZ), Beijing Baination Pictures Co.,Ltd. (300291.SZ), Huayi Brothers Media Corporation (300027.SZ), Hengdian Entertainment Co.,Ltd. (603103.SH) and other film and TV stocks also surged significantly.

This stock price movement was directly related to positive industry news. On August 18, the National Radio and Television Administration held a video conference regarding the Radio and Television 21 Regulations, providing detailed interpretation of relevant clauses and injecting a strong stimulant into the industry.

"The capital market actively responded to the Administration's policy, which for the entire creative industry is definitely a tremendous release of vitality, because it directly works from both the supply side and consumption side simultaneously, giving the supply side more creative space while also giving the consumption side greater choice," Zhao Bin analyzed to reporters that this dual-direction approach has tremendous market stimulation effect.

Senior TV drama industry professional Li Neng (pseudonym) told reporters frankly: "The drama series industry hasn't had good news for a long time. Generally, the news that comes is negative signals like platform tightening and increasingly shorter episode requirements." He explained that drama series were previously priced by episode count, with more episodes commanding higher prices, while major platforms like "iQiyi, Youku, Tencent, and Mango" have continuously tightened procurement quantities, which is naturally an unfavorable signal for the industry.

In fact, the film and TV drama market has shown a downward trend in recent years: TV drama production volume, licensed drama quantities, and platform broadcast volumes have all continued to decline. Data shows that in 2014, 429 TV dramas received distribution licenses for the full year, while in 2024 this number was only 115, a 73% decrease. Li Jingsheng, Vice President of the China Association of Radio and Television Social Organizations, pointed out at the 12th China Network Audiovisual Conference in March 2025 that the long-form drama ecosystem has entered a bottleneck period, where "quality improvement" is repeatedly emphasized in "quantity reduction and quality improvement," but "quantity reduction" is little known.

Meanwhile, the rise of micro-short dramas has formed a strong impact on long-form dramas. In 2024, micro-short drama users in the network audiovisual field reached 662 million, with a six-month growth rate of 14.8%; independent micro-short drama app average daily usage time per person increased from 90 minutes to 101 minutes, matching instant messaging. Li Neng pointed out to reporters: "Over the past year or so, all major long-video platforms have been developing short dramas. iQiyi has invested tremendous energy, and Tencent Video plans to allocate 10%-20% of long-drama resources to short dramas."

Industry professionals including Zhao Bin and Li Neng all told reporters that the release of Radio and Television 21 Regulations at this time is highly significant. "First, it will benefit long-drama production companies like Beijing Baination Pictures Co.,Ltd. and H&R Century Union Corporation. Going forward, they can freely attempt themes they previously didn't dare touch," Li Neng stated.

Radio and Television 21 Regulations Dispel "Padded Drama" Concerns, Major IP Development Welcomes New Opportunities

On August 15, the content of Radio and Television 21 Regulations began circulating within the industry. Among them, content regarding canceling the 40-episode series limit, canceling the one-year interval restriction for seasonal dramas, adjusting period drama broadcast policies, encouraging network-TV collaboration and multi-platform broadcasting, and lifting country restrictions on excellent work adaptations attracted tremendous attention.

"On August 18, the National Radio and Television Administration called us together for a 2-hour video meeting to interpret relevant clauses," a well-known film company executive told reporters. The meeting content was basically consistent with what circulated online, with each provision precisely addressing industry pain points. "All local (radio and television) bureaus and representative enterprises participated, but the specific launch time for (relevant measures) has not yet been announced."

"Generally speaking, after the spirit is conveyed, various platforms will receive notifications. TV stations and platforms will have dedicated personnel communicate with the National Radio and Television Administration, then pass information to film companies and various data platforms," an industry professional close to platform operations told reporters.

When discussing specific clauses, Zhao Bin stated frankly: "Seasonal dramas not needing to wait too long between broadcasts will help sustain continuous creation of good IPs (intellectual properties with commercial development value)."

Li Neng gave an example to reporters: "《The Journey of Chong Zi》was forced to split into two seasons due to episode count reasons. The first season had very good broadcast results, but the second season wasn't as ideal due to the one-year interval."

Zhao Bin also observed that the one-year interval causes many major IPs to lose momentum. "This adjustment greatly benefits continuous high-quality development of premium IPs, will tremendously promote long-drama market recovery, and will push market resources to further concentrate toward major IPs. Only when big IPs rise can the entire market's water level be raised."

However, regarding the "lifting of the 40-episode limit" mentioned in Radio and Television 21 Regulations, concerns have already emerged in the market about whether "padded dramas" will make a comeback.

"Original 'padded dramas' were products of extremely prosperous market times. Now platform budgets and single-drama investments are not as crazy as before, capital is also more rational, and platforms will have very strict control over content," Li Neng maintains an optimistic attitude about this.

The aforementioned professional close to platform operations also said: "'Padded dramas' often cause platforms to lose money. Now iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video and other video platforms are all pursuing profitability and won't likely allow 'padded dramas' to continue broadcasting."

From "Survival Line" Edge to Capital Return, Production Teams Press "Accelerated Startup" Button

In the view of multiple industry professionals, the purpose of the National Radio and Television Administration releasing 21 regulations this time is to "hope to revitalize the long-form drama market."

"The entire drama series market isn't prosperous enough, with production volume decline being especially severe," a senior professional from a long-video platform told reporters. At the first China TV Drama Production Industry Conference held earlier this year, "the industry association once issued a 'warning': if the entire market's scale (production volume) falls below 200 productions per year, it indicates extremely severe shrinkage, which would be a tremendous blow whether to audiences or to the industry."

The "2024 China Drama Series Industry Annual Development Report" shows that from 2019 to 2024, China's TV drama (including web series) distribution quantities were: 752, 413, 426, 411, 355, and 281 productions respectively.

Facing the 200 productions/year "survival line," the chain reaction triggered by Radio and Television 21 Regulations not only allows the long-dormant film and television industry to see recovery dawn, but also heralds comprehensive restructuring of content creation, platform scheduling, and capital deployment.

Zhao Bin pointed out that "shortening review cycles" means cost reduction for platforms and producers, improving capital utilization efficiency. "The policy's introduction will have significant impact on market upstream and downstream, especially as capital begins to 'return' attention."

"Now many production companies have gone to make short dramas, with money and resources for long-form dramas decreasing. If this continues long-term, the market will fall into a vicious cycle," Li Neng believes that measures mentioned in the clauses such as "piloting mid-episode advertising in TV dramas" and "optimizing co-review mechanisms, improving co-review efficiency" all have potential to attract more people to reinvest funds back into long-form drama series.

"The direction of Radio and Television 21 Regulations is clear. Policy supports us in developing the entire film and television industry toward positive, healthy, and accelerated directions. This gives investors a reassurance pill to some extent," Zhao Bin told reporters. From the film market perspective, the second half of the summer season gained momentum, meaning the market exists, audiences haven't been lost, and capital is just waiting on the sidelines.

Taking advantage of this positive momentum, Zhao Bin revealed that the company's new drama "Born with Wings" has decided to begin production this week. "This isn't a sudden policy, but the 'timely rain' we've long anticipated. I understand that many film and TV projects are accelerating their startup."

"I just arrived in Hengdian today to look at new projects, and can feel obvious changes compared to when I came two weeks ago. Just taking restaurant reservations as an example, restaurant activity is much more robust now," Zhao Bin anticipates that with the landing of Radio and Television 21 Regulations, market enthusiasm will be further ignited.