China’s AI short-drama boom faces soaring traffic costs
A 妙投APP analysis by Duan Mingzhu says China’s AI short-drama market reached RMB 22 billion in the first half of 2026 and is forecast to exceed RMB 40 billion for the year. Citing DataEye vice president Lin Qiwen, it says production costs fell 90%, while traffic costs rose more than 100% and revenue declined by over 50%. DataEye’s reported first-half hit rate was 0.47%. The report also examines three platform models from ByteDance’s RedNote Short Drama, Tencent’s Green Bubble Short Drama and Kuaishou, noting that none separately discloses AI short-drama revenue.
The analysis indicates that lower AI production costs have not translated into better unit economics because distribution and attention have become more expensive. Limited revenue disclosure also makes it difficult to assess which companies are converting the boom into verifiable profits.
“芒果超媒终于20cm涨停”，10月9日，妙投投资群中有用户感叹。十一节后，AI剧带领传媒股走出了一波涨停潮；龙头股慈文传媒一度走出7天6板的凌厉走势。这直接导火索是国庆前后的密集催化：红果短剧国庆期间日活跃用户达1.68亿，超越爱优腾芒四大长视频平台日活总和，算下来，每10个网民中有......
出品 | 妙投APP
作者 | 段明珠
编辑 | 丁萍
头图 | AI生成
#Hongguo Short Drama#Tencent Green Bubble Short Drama#Kuaishou#ByteDance#Seedance 2.5#Bona Film Group#DataEye#Wondershare Drama Factory#FlareFlow#Kunlun Tech#Yuewen#Chinese Online