China’s iQIYI pivots to ‘industrialised mini-dramas’ as demand for shortform grows

Chinese streaming giant iQiyi is leaning into the trend for shortform content by curating “industrialised mini-dramas” in response to evolving audience consumption patterns in East Asia.

Yu Gong (Photo: iQIYI)

Executives from the Beijing-headquartered SVoD service discussed the content strategy at the China TV Drama Production Industry Conference and the 10th China International TV Drama Programme Trade Fair in Shenzhen recently.

Yu Gong, founder and CEO of iQiyi, delivered a keynote speech emphasising the company’s “viewer-centric” approach to entertaining subscribers.

Meanwhile, iQiyi senior VP Haitao Yang detailed the platform’s strategic initiatives in response to growing market demand for concise storytelling in China.

Highlighting the expansion of its shortform ecosystem, he detailed two key programming directives. The first, the Thousand Mini Dramas Initiative, focuses on mobile-optimised vertical content of one- to three-minute episodes, covering genres from romance to suspense. The second, Hundred Short Dramas initiative, features horizontal-format content of five- to 20-minute episodes, emphasising premium period dramas and urban storylines.

iQiyi has revealed its mini-drama portfolio now exceeds 10,000 titles and has a 95% share of viewership in the space. The company also claims that shortform content generated more than ¥1m (US$140,000) in revenue-sharing income last December.

Yu Gong, founder and CEO of iQiyi, said: “Success in our industry goes beyond content length, cast influence, production budgets or the latest AI and virtual production technologies.

“The most crucial aspect is respecting the creative process, valuing content creators, understanding audience preferences, managing resources efficiently and leveraging innovation to deliver premium content. Ultimately, putting viewers at the centre of everything we do is what matters most.”