Overseasidol.com — China’s television drama industry is currently grappling with a significant decline in viewership, particularly for long-form series.
This issue was discussed during a recent industry forum attended by NRTA and major streaming platforms, including iQIYI and Tencent Video.
During the discussion, Liu Huangfu, a senior executive at iQIYI, identified three main factors behind the continuous drop in viewership.
These include widespread content piracy, the influence of online public opinion, and shifting audience consumption habits.
He explained that modern audiences increasingly prefer shorter and faster-paced content, making it more challenging for traditional long-form dramas to maintain their appeal.
Additionally, social media trends and public sentiment can significantly impact a show’s performance, especially when controversies arise.
In response, iQIYI plans to increase investment in mid-length drama productions while also revising its revenue-sharing model.
One of the key initiatives includes offering a larger share of income to content creators, potentially up to 100 percent under certain schemes, to encourage higher-quality productions.
Meanwhile, representatives from Tencent Video emphasized that mid-length dramas should not be treated the same as long-form series.
They called for greater flexibility in storytelling themes and regulatory processes, noting that lengthy approval timelines could weaken the industry’s competitiveness in a fast-evolving global market.
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