ByteDance's short-drama app is turning into China's latest obsession
In August, ByteDance's apps accounted for 41.8% of the time Chinese users spent on the country's 50 biggest mobile apps.
ByteDance's short-drama app, Hongguo, is becoming a major player in China's mobile app landscape. According to Nomura's China Internet and New Media Monthly App Tracker, Hongguo now ranks fourth among the country's biggest apps, behind Douyin, its Lite version, and WeChat. Released in 2023, Hongguo is essentially TikTok for short dramas, offering a free, ad-supported platform for bite-sized episodes with storylines ranging from romance to fantasy.
Chinese data firm QuestMobile reports Hongguo has nearly 370 million users as of June. Short dramas are booming in China, with episodes designed for phone screens and storylines spanning high-stakes romance, revenge, fantasy, and family feuds. This trend has also spread overseas, with Omdia projecting the US short-drama market to generate around half of the $3 billion in international short-drama revenue expected this year.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and Hongguo, sees AI video tools as a cost-effective solution for creating ads, a trend that has already begun in China's short-drama industry.
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