(Yicai) Sept. 17-- China produced over 10 times more micro dramas in the first eight months of this year than in all of 2025, as artificial intelligence fuels a production boom.

From January to August, a total of 430,000 micro dramas, short serialized shows typically lasting just a few minutes per episode, were released nationwide, 13 times the number for the whole of last year, according to fresh data from the National Radio and Television Administration. AI-generated dramas accounted for more than 90 percent of the new titles.

The market has grown rapidly. Chinese micro dramas now reach more than 800 million users, or more than half of the country’s population. The country's micro-drama market exceeded CNY100 billion (USD14.9 billion) in 2025, when the number of users was nearly 700 million, according to data the media regulator released at a press conference in February.

AI technology has opened up new possibilities for innovative expression, lower costs, and greater efficiency in micro-drama production, but has also created new challenges for content quality and rights protection, Wang Xiaoliang, director of the administration’s Network Audiovisual Program Management Department, said at a press conference today.

Regulators will encourage innovation while strengthening oversight of AI-generated micro dramas, including requiring content labels and protecting portrait and voice rights throughout the production process, Wang said.

Regulators have made harmful and vulgar material, content unsuitable for children, and copyright infringement and piracy key targets of industry governance, Wang said. They have removed 68,000 micro dramas that violated regulations from online platforms so far this year and instructed platforms to deal with more than 1,200 accounts that broke the rules. More than 90 percent of the content removed was AI-generated, he added.

Chinese micro dramas have been shown and widely welcomed in more than 200 countries and regions and account for over 80 percent of the overseas micro-drama market, He Biao, spokesperson of the NRTA, said at the press conference.

China should make good use of the new growth engine provided by AI technology, continue consolidating the leading position of its micro-drama industry, and help Chinese micro dramas reach more overseas markets, Wang added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine