Positive Comments: The Craze for Short Drama Bases Activates the Industrial Ecosystem and Becomes a New Growth Pole for Local Economies
The concentrated emergence of short drama bases is not simply a case of “jumping on the bandwagon” but a two – way pursuit between the explosive growth of the short drama industry and the needs of local economic transformation. From the industrial ecosystem to local economies, this craze is demonstrating multiple positive values.
Firstly, short drama bases significantly reduce production costs and improve industry efficiency through the industrial agglomeration effect. As reported in the news, short drama bases in cities like Zhengzhou and Xi’an have enabled scattered production crews to shoot in a concentrated manner through scene sharing and resource integration. For example, the Zhanqi Short Drama Base in Zhengzhou transformed the luxury sales offices of real – estate developers into general shooting scenes, meeting the needs of short dramas in themes such as “dominant CEOs” and “urban stories” for high – end scenes. Production crews can rent these scenes instead of building them on their own, reducing the single – scene shooting cost from tens of thousands of yuan to thousands of yuan. This “sharing economy” model essentially transforms the “heavy – asset” aspects of short drama production (scene construction and equipment rental) into “light – asset” services, greatly lowering the entry threshold for small and medium – sized production crews. Data shows that about 100 short dramas start shooting in Zhengzhou every day, accounting for 40% – 60% of the national output. Behind this high output is the efficient supporting services provided by the bases.
Secondly, the rise of short drama bases promotes the activation and utilization of existing resources, in line with the trend of the “low – carbon economy”. As mentioned in the news, the important support for short drama bases in Zhengzhou is “abandoned buildings” and idle sales offices. These assets that were originally left idle due to the adjustment of the real – estate market have been transformed into short drama shooting scenes. This not only avoids resource waste but also brings rental income to real – estate developers. For example, a three – story castle – shaped sales office that the Zhanqi Base cooperated with was originally invested over 100 million yuan but was idle. After transformation, it has “turned waste into treasure” through scene rental and crew logistics services. This “old space + new content” model provides a new idea for urban renewal – without large – scale demolition and reconstruction, only by functional transformation according to the needs of emerging industries, inefficient assets can be activated.
Thirdly, short drama bases are becoming a “new engine” for local economies, driving multi – dimensional growth in culture and tourism, employment, and taxation. Referring to the experience of Hengdian World Studios, in 2024, its comprehensive cultural and tourism income accounted for over 40% of the total revenue, driving a 18% increase in surrounding catering and accommodation. Currently, short drama bases in Zhengzhou, Xi’an and other places have initially shown similar effects: the concentrated shooting of production crews has attracted a large number of actors, crew members, and equipment suppliers, driving the demand for local accommodation, catering, transportation and other service industries. And short dramas themselves, as a “city business card”, indirectly enhance the city’s popularity through the exposure of landmarks in the plots (such as Zhengzhou’s Erqi Square and Xi’an’s Shili Fenghe), attracting tourists to visit. For example, Zhengzhou has opened 12 public scenes (such as Dehua Street) to production crews for free, which not only reduces shooting costs but also spreads the city’s culture through short dramas, forming a positive cycle of “content – traffic – consumption”.
Finally, the business model innovation of short drama bases injects vitality into the industry ecosystem. In addition to the traditional “sub – landlord” model (scene rental), some bases have explored multiple paths such as “joint investment in shooting” and “C – end immersive experience”. For example, the “three – stage” plan of Changzhou Xingguang Wuxian Film Studio: starting from providing supporting services, then participating in the investment of short dramas, and finally leading the investment and self – production, gradually extending to the upstream of the industrial chain; the concept of the “short drama town” mentioned by Xu Youwei combines shooting scenes with immersive check – in and variety show live shows, which may potentially connect the dual benefits of the B – end (production crews) and the C – end (consumers) in the future. This model innovation not only enhances the risk – resistance ability of the bases but also provides the possibility for the short drama industry to upgrade from “traffic monetization” to “ecosystem monetization”.
Negative Comments: Hidden Concerns in the Craze for Short Drama Bases, Homogenization and Difficulty in Making Profits May Become Development Bottlenecks
Although the rise of short drama bases has positive significance, the risks behind it are also worthy of attention. From industry competition to profit models, from policy dependence to content quality, multiple challenges may turn this craze into a “new bubble”.
Firstly, the intensifying homogeneous competition and the risk of over – capacity are prominent. Currently, many cities across the country (Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Qingdao, Northeast China, etc.) have proposed to build a “short drama capital”, but the positioning of most bases is highly similar – mainly focusing on urban and dominant CEO themes and relying on scene rental income. For example, bases in Zhengzhou and Xi’an both promote “luxury scenes”, and bases in Changzhou and Northeast China have not formed significant differences. This “rush” in construction may lead to an oversupply of scene resources. As reported in the news, the daily scene rental fee in Zhengzhou dropped from 5,000 – 6,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan in 2024, which is a direct manifestation of market involution. If more bases enter the market in the future, the scene rental price may further decline, and some small and medium – sized bases may go bankrupt due to insufficient income.
Secondly, the profit model is single, and most bases find it difficult to recoup their investment. Although some bases claim that “three production crews per day can ensure profitability”, the core profit – making part of the industry does not lie in the bases themselves. As pointed out in the news, leading short drama companies produce over 100 short dramas per month, with a single – drama cost of 500,000 yuan and a monthly revenue of up to 50 million yuan; script companies can have an annual revenue of tens of millions of yuan. In contrast, the income of bases mainly relies on scene rental (accounting for over 70%), and high – investment bases (such as Jumei Airport Base, which invested 30 million yuan) can only recoup their investment through rental income after many years. More importantly, the “Matthew effect” in the short drama industry is obvious: leading production crews prefer to build their own scenes or cooperate with large – scale bases, and small and medium – sized production crews are price – sensitive. As a result, small and medium – sized bases have difficulty attracting high – quality customers. If bases cannot expand multiple income sources such as joint investment in shooting and copyright sharing and only rely on the “sub – landlord” model, 90% of the bases may follow in the footsteps of live – streaming bases and end up “not making money”.
Thirdly, there is a strong policy dependence, and the sustainability of development is questionable. Currently, the rise of short drama bases in many places is closely related to government support: Zhengzhou provides venue rent exemptions, Xi’an has a special fund, and Northeast China has opened a green channel through an association. However, policy dividends are temporary. If local fiscal pressure increases or the industry’s popularity declines in the future, support policies may be reduced. For example, due to insufficient fiscal advantages, the Northeast Yunchuang Future Base needs to “support the scenes with dramas”. However, this model relies on its own investment and shooting ability. If the self – produced short dramas do not generate good returns, the operation of the base will be unsustainable. In addition, although the model of some bases using abandoned buildings revitalizes the existing resources, it overly relies on cooperation with real – estate developers. If real – estate developers take back the venues or raise the rent, the bases will face the risk of “scene supply interruption”.
Fourthly, the content quality and industry supervision may lag behind, affecting long – term value. Although the high output of short drama bases (such as 100 short dramas per day in Zhengzhou) promotes the expansion of the industry scale, it may also lead to homogeneous and vulgar content. Currently, most short dramas still focus on high – conflict themes such as “dominant CEOs” and “counter – attacks”, with insufficient content innovation. And bases may lower the content quality review standards to attract production crews. If future supervision becomes stricter (such as the regulation of values and copyrights), some bases relying on “borderline content” may face policy risks. In addition, the core competitiveness of the short drama industry lies in “content IP”, not scene hardware. If bases only focus on scene services and ignore support for content creation (such as script incubation and talent training), they will be difficult to gain an advantage in the industry upgrade.
Suggestions for Entrepreneurs: Differentiated Positioning, Diversified Layout, and Building Sustainable Competitiveness
Facing the craze and challenges of short drama bases, entrepreneurs need to remain rational and build core competitiveness in the following directions:
Focus on differentiated positioning to avoid homogeneous competition. Entrepreneurs should explore niche markets based on local characteristics instead of blindly replicating the “urban dominant CEO” model. For example, Northeast China can focus on “rural dramas” and “period dramas”, Qingdao can develop “workplace business battle” themes combined with ocean scenes, and Xi’an can create “ancient – style short dramas” relying on historical and cultural resources. By attracting specific types of production crews with differentiated content, entrepreneurs can not only reduce direct competition with leading bases but also form a “labeled” advantage.
Expand diversified income models to reduce dependence on scene rental. Referring to the “three – stage” plan of Changzhou Xingguang Wuxian, entrepreneurs can start from scene rental and gradually extend to joint investment in shooting and copyright sharing. For example, they can choose high – quality scripts or teams to co – invest (with a proportion of 15% – 30%) and share the advertising and revenue – sharing income of short dramas. At the same time, they can explore C – end business by transforming shooting scenes into immersive check – in points or script – killing venues to connect B – end and C – end income.
Control investment costs and give priority to using existing resources. Avoid heavy – asset investment and give priority to cooperation with real – estate developers and scenic spots. Revitalize idle spaces (such as abandoned buildings and old factories) through the “transformation + sharing” model. For example, the Zhanqi Base in Zhengzhou only invested hundreds of thousands of yuan to transform a sales office, which can meet the shooting needs. This “light – asset” model can quickly recoup the investment. At the same time, through the strategy of “supporting the scenes with dramas”, entrepreneurs can negotiate with production crews to retain self – built scenes for subsequent reuse, reducing repeated investment.
Pay attention to policies and industry trends and plan ahead for compliance and content upgrading. Entrepreneurs need to closely follow regulatory dynamics (such as content review and copyright regulation) to avoid being punished for “borderline content”. At the same time, they can cooperate with industry associations to promote content innovation, such as setting up a “high – quality script reward fund” to attract screenwriters to create high – quality short dramas. In addition, with the integration of short dramas and e – commerce (Douyin e – commerce has a GMV of 3.5 trillion yuan and needs short dramas as a carrier), entrepreneurs can plan ahead for “e – commerce short drama” scenes, customize product placement scenes for brands, and expand the B2B2C business chain.
Strengthen industrial chain collaboration and create a closed – loop of “base + service + ecosystem”. In addition to scene rental, entrepreneurs can integrate resources in scriptwriting, shooting, post – production, and distribution to provide “one – stop services” for production crews. For example, they can introduce script companies to set up on – site, cooperate with equipment rental companies to reduce costs, and connect with platform traffic resources to help distribute short dramas. Through industrial chain collaboration, entrepreneurs can enhance the irreplaceability of the base and upgrade from a “scene supplier” to a “short drama ecosystem service provider”.
The craze for short drama bases is essentially the “infrastructure construction” during the explosive period of the short drama industry. For entrepreneurs, the key to seizing the opportunity does not lie in “blindly building bases” but in building core barriers through differentiated positioning, diversified models, and industrial chain collaboration. Only by truly solving industry pain points (such as high costs and scattered resources) and creating long – term value (such as content upgrading and ecosystem empowerment) can entrepreneurs stand out in the competition for the “short drama capital” and avoid repeating the “mess” of live – streaming bases.
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