MK sportsfilmed at Hengdian World Studios in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang Province, on August 25, 2024. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-12-12/33992f7a-29ae-4cc6-a1ba-d6a0af23ce23.jpeg" />

A micro-drama is filmed at Hengdian World Studios in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang Province, on August 25, 2024. Photo: VCG

According to China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), online audiovisual platforms are strictly prohibited from distributing, promoting, or directing traffic to micro-dramas lacking license or registration number.

Aimed at fostering industry growth while ensuring stricter governance, a notice has been released by the administration, mandating the implementation of a "classified and tiered review" system regarding the online micro-drama industry, according to a report published on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency.  

All micro-dramas distributed, promoted, or streamed by online audiovisual platforms, mini-programs and traffic distribution agencies must obtain a "Network Drama Distribution License" or complete the corresponding online filing and registration procedures. Before being released, micro-dramas must display the license or registration number in the opening credits according to the prescribed format.  

The "classified and tiered review" system has categorized micro-dramas into three types and managed across three tiers. This differentiated and precise approach aims to optimize the review process and improve efficiency. 

The three types include "Key Micro-Dramas" that meet conditions such as featuring special themes, and having a total investment of 1 million yuan (about $140,000) or more, "Regular Micro-Dramas," which are supported by a total investment between 300,000 and 1 million yuan and do not receive key promotion, and the category of "Other Micro-Dramas."

The notice stipulates that micro-dramas involving significant themes or special topics such as politics, military, diplomacy, national security, united front work, ethnic and religious affairs, judiciary, and public security must comply with relevant co-review mechanisms. 

While the 2025 Spring Festival holidays set a new record for the same period in the country's film industry history, various audiovisual platforms announced the release of over 300 high-quality micro-dramas, with the actual number far exceeding this figure, reflecting a new landscape of premiumization in the micro-drama industry.  

"Micro-dramas are now establishing their own Spring Festival season boom. Though it is still not comparable to the film industry's Spring Festival box office, it has nonetheless developed into a distinct holiday period for releases. With the correct and effective guidance from relevant authorities, the micro-drama industry is being provided with a broader stage and greater space for development," Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration, told the Global Times. 

Feng Shengyong, director of the Online Audiovisual Program Management Department of the NRTA, highlighted that the micro-drama industry faces three major opportunities and key challenges: content homogenization and innovation difficulties, increased pressure on platforms for content quality regulation, and balancing commercialization and creative quality.

Feng said the NRTA will continue to raise the standards for high-quality micro-drama production, using the "micro-drama plus" action plan released in January as a key policy framework. This initiative includes six major creative projects: "Travel with Micro-Dramas," "Learn the Law through Micro-Dramas," "Discover Literary Classics through Micro-Dramas," "Explore Brands in Micro-Dramas," "Experience Intangible Cultural Heritage in Micro-Dramas" and "Learn Science through Micro-Dramas."  

The "Learn Science through Micro-Dramas" initiative, for instance, aims to integrate scientific knowledge and the spirit of science into micro-drama content. It encourages more scientists and researchers to support and participate in the creation of science-themed micro-dramas so as to improve the public scientific literacy and enhance national science popularization efforts.