ByteDance's short-drama app is turning into China's latest obsession

ByteDance's short-drama app Hongguo is taking over China. LIU JUNFENG/ Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images Forget three-hour movies. China is getting hooked on bite-sized dramas — and ByteDance's Hongguo app is becoming one of the country's biggest platforms for streaming them.In August, ByteDance's apps accounted for 41.8% of the time users spent on China's 50 biggest mobile apps, up from 34.2% a year earlier. The figures come from Nomura's China Internet and New Media Monthly App Tracker, published October 5.Much of that growth came from its two apps: Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and Hongguo, a streaming platform focused on short dramas.Hongguo ranks fourth among the country's biggest apps, behind ByteDance's Douyin and its Lite version, as well as WeChat.At the same time, China's long-form streaming services are losing ground. In August, the monthly time Chinese users spent on iQIYI, Tencent Video, and Mango TV fell by 35%, 40%, and 27%, respectively, year-on-year.Short dramas on the riseLaunched in 2023, Hongguo is essentially TikTok for short dramas, operating on a free, ad-supported model.Chinese data firm QuestMobile said the platform had nearly 370 million users as of June.Hongguo is riding a broader short-drama boom in China. These shows are made for phone screens, with episodes lasting several minutes and storylines ranging from high-stakes romance and revenge to fantasy and family feuds.The format is taking off overseas, too. Tech market analysis firm Omdia expects the US, its largest market outside China, to generate roughly half of the $3 billion in international short-drama revenue forecast for this year. Omdia puts global short-drama revenue at about $11 billion in 2025 and expects it to climb to $14 billion by the end of this year.The format has also become a testing ground for AI-made video.Speaking more broadly about the industry at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore on Monday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said AI video tools can help brands create ads at a fraction of the usual cost, a trend he said is already playing out in China's short-drama industry. TikTok and Hongguo are both owned by ByteDance.Chew said he believed the "overwhelming majority" of short dramas now being produced use AI models, including ByteDance's Seedance. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Amanda is a senior lifestyle reporter at Business Insider's Singapore bureau.Her reporting explores how people navigate major life transitions, including career changes, relocation, and retirement, with a particular focus on the experiences of those living in Asia. She also writes about travel, culture, wellness, and relationships.In 2025, she won the Singapore Press Club's Rising Stars Young Digital Journalist Award.She previously worked as a writer and video producer at a content marketing agency in Singapore. She graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BA (Hons) in Sociology.