AI微短剧蓬勃兴起,管控力度将持续增强

Regulators are getting tough with a booming new form of entertainment

监管机构正对一种蓬勃兴起的新型娱乐形式加大管控力度

原文来自经济学人欧洲版2026-4-11中国板块

In the animated series “Orange Cat Taoist Priest: Fighting the Zombie King”, a tabby in a flowing robe uses magical amulets and laser lassos to battle a pack of vicious, undead kittens. These feline adventures come in dozens of two-minute episodes, or micro-dramas—a form of entertainment that mashes traditional TV shows with scrollable social-media posts. AI-animated soap operas featuring talking cats may sound niche but have become all the rage in China. The Taoist master cat has attracted half a million views.

在动画短剧《橘猫道长：大战僵尸王》中，一只身披飘逸道袍的虎斑猫，凭借符咒与激光套索，与一群凶残的不死小猫展开激战。这类猫咪冒险故事被制作成数十集、每集仅两分钟的微短剧 —— 这种娱乐形式将传统电视剧与可滑动浏览的社交媒体内容融为一体。以会说话的猫咪为主角的 AI 动画肥皂剧听起来或许小众，却已在国内风靡一时。这只猫道长相关作品的播放量已达 50 万次。

China’s entertainment industry has been shaken by micro-form. Total time spent watching longer dramas fell by 15% year on year in January while viewing time on Red Fruit, a micro-drama app owned by ByteDance, the Chinese firm behind TikTok, more than doubled.

微短剧浪潮正冲击着中国娱乐行业。今年 1 月，观众观看长剧集的总时长同比下降 15%，而在 TikTok 所属中国企业字节跳动旗下的微短剧应用红果上，用户观看时长则实现了翻倍增长。

The business model is based on aggressively cutting costs. The live-action versions use amateurs and barebones sets, but they are being undercut by new AI-animation tools. The proliferation of these in the past year has enabled production costs to be cut by up to 90%, reckon analysts at HSBC, a bank. Industry insiders say the volume of live-action micro-drama filmed in some regions has shrunk by 80% while actors’ already meagre pay has been cut by half. One producer says that in early April he knew of only a few non-AI-animated micro-dramas being shot in China. 

该行业的商业模式核心是大幅压缩成本。真人微短剧选用素人演员、搭建极简场景，而新兴的 AI 动画技术更是进一步拉低了制作成本。汇丰银行分析师估算，过去一年 AI 动画工具的普及，让制作成本最高降幅达 90%。业内人士透露，国内部分地区真人微短剧的拍摄量缩减了 80%，演员本就微薄的片酬也被腰斩。一位制片人表示，4 月初，国内正在拍摄的非 AI 动画微短剧寥寥无几。

But the AI type faces headwinds. Since April 1st regulators have required that all animated micro-series not already approved for streaming be removed from online platforms. New series, they say, must file for approval before being released online.

但 AI 微短剧也面临发展阻力。自 4 月 1 日起，监管部门要求所有未获上线播出许可的动画微短剧，均需从网络平台下架。新规明确，新上线的动画微短剧必须提前申请审批。

The model’s other problems are also becoming clearer. One is excessive competition. China has produced so many AI micro-dramas that, despite their shoestring budgets, fewer and fewer get sufficient views to make money. Another problem is the very nature of this entertainment. It is hard for people to form sentimental attachments to micro-drama characters; as viewers, they are less loyal.

这种模式的其他问题也日益凸显。其一便是过度竞争。国内 AI 微短剧产量巨大，即便制作成本低廉，能获得足够播放量实现盈利的作品却越来越少。其二则源于这类娱乐形式本身的特性：观众很难对微短剧中的角色产生情感共鸣，用户黏性较低。

China’s tech giants are trying to adapt. One of them, Alibaba, has launched a new season of a long-form animated series called “The Demon Hunter”. It has more than 10m followers. In the epic battle for eyeballs, longer dramas may still stand a chance. 

国内科技巨头正尝试调整策略。阿里巴巴便推出了长篇动画《猎魔人》的新一季，该作品粉丝量超千万。在这场争夺用户注意力的激烈角逐中，长剧集或许仍有一席之地。