This move isn’t just a facelift.
It’s iQIYI doubling down on the red-hot micro-drama trend that’s taking over the screens of Gen Z and millennial viewers.
We're talking bite-sized stories in vertical format, with each episode wrapping up in just 1 to 5 minutes — perfect for sneaky bingeing on the bus, in bed, or during those “quick” coffee breaks.
Wang Xiaohui: 2025 is All About “Short”
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| iQIYI Doubles Down on Short-Form Video with New Micro-Drama App |
At a recent press conference, iQIYI’s Chief Content Officer Wang Xiaohui made it crystal clear — 2025’s magic word is “short”.
That means shorter episodes, shorter seasons, and even shorter overall runtimes.
“We see a growing demand for tighter, more concise, and efficient storytelling in today’s era,” Wang explained, as quoted by China Daily.
Makes sense, when everyone’s glued to their phones and attention spans are getting shorter than ever.
New Theatres, New Content, New Rules
To kick things off, iQIYI’s also launching two new content labels: Micro-Drama Theater and Short-Drama Theater.
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Micro-Drama Theater will churn out two new vertical titles each week, made up of ultra-quick episodes that you can finish faster than a takeaway order.
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Short-Drama Theater, on the other hand, goes for a slightly meatier format — one new horizontal drama per week, with episodes running from 5 to 20 minutes. That’s still short, but with room to breathe.
It’s not yet confirmed whether these will live only on the Micro-Drama app or also pop up on the main iQIYI platform, but one thing’s for sure: iQIYI wants a bigger bite of the mobile-first content pie.
Taking on Douyin and Kuaishou
The timing isn’t random — platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou are already thriving in the short drama arena, and iQIYI clearly isn’t planning to sit back and watch.
With the Micro-Drama app, they’re throwing themselves into the ring with something a bit slicker and more story-focused.
CEO Yu Gong also jumped in with a keynote speech at the event, pushing iQIYI’s “viewer-centric” mission — all about giving audiences what they want, when they want it, and how they want it.
Meanwhile, Senior VP Haitao Yang laid out the company’s game plan for capturing audiences looking for fast, punchy storytelling in an increasingly crowded market.
Quick, snappy, and scroll-friendly — it looks like short dramas are here to stay, and iQIYI wants to be leading the charge.