On June 26, the Mini Series Global Distribution Session of the 2025 Mini Series Global Outreach & Branding Conference was held at Shanghai Oriental Intelligent Media City. As a key component of the conference, the session—titled "Riding the Waves: Exploration and Practice of Mini Series Global Distribution"—brought together industry pioneers to address the challenges of mini series overseas expansion and to jointly explore strategies for content localization, AI empowerment, and global operations.

Amid the rise of short video platforms like TikTok and the development of supporting infrastructure such as mobile payments, Chinese mini series have emerged as a new force in content export, gaining strong traction across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. However, cultural barriers, local competition, and regulatory environments present significant challenges to their global outreach. How can Chinese mini series move forward? Insights were shared by Liang Lili, Founder of Mini Series Study Room; Vikram Channa, Vice President of Warner Bros. Discovery; and Wang Li, Vice President and General Manager of Overseas Operations at Maiya Media.

Liang Lili, Founder of Mini Series Study Room, delivers a speech

As a leading figure in vertical media within the mini series industry, Liang Lili highlighted the characteristics of the head effect in the Chinese mini series sector by analyzing shifting industry trends. According to Liang, AI-Generated Content (AIGC) is a pivotal factor in the success of Chinese mini series outreach. Vikram Channa drew on his experience with vertical-screen mini series to inform vertical-screen documentary creation, emphasizing the importance of authenticity in content production. With mini series as the vessel and global outreach as the path forward, Wang Li noted that the long-term value of mini series lies in producing high-quality content through systematic thinking.

Launch Ceremony of the Mini Series Global Co-creation Plan

The launch of the Mini Series Global Co-creation Plan marked the climax of the themed session. The plan was jointly launched by Zhu Yannan, Party Secretary and Director of the Development Research Center, National Radio and Television Administration; Deng Yixian, Founder of Man Rui Culture; Jin Guoguang, Partner of He Ya Culture; Professor Bryan Allen of the Communication University of China; and Li Ka, Founder of the international volunteer organization From Compassion to Action (FCTA).

Roundtable Discussion: "Mini Series Global Outreach: Booming Market, Rational Reflection"

Centered on the theme "Mini Series Global Outreach: Booming Market, Rational Reflection," the roundtable discussion offered an objective analysis of the development of mini series across markets such as North America, Indonesia, and the Middle East. It examined key factors including production capacity, user payment behavior, and cultural differences. Zhang Rui, Co-founder of STOREEL, noted that content creation guided by the principle of the "greatest common divisor" can help mitigate risk but may also limit creative innovation. He emphasized the need to strike a balance between original mini series and localized content, and to explore a path of balanced innovation in global mini series outreach.

Wang Weixuan, CEO of WIN WINGS Corporation, delivers a speech

At the event, Wang Weixuan, CEO of WIN WINGS Corporation, introduced the current landscape, market scale, and content trends of Japanese mini series, while exploring their prospects for overseas expansion. He emphasized the importance of seizing this golden period to explore new directions in content creation. Huang Jiajun, CMO of Xiaowu Bros, shared key strategies for attracting overseas audiences to mini series, including copyright protection, multilingual adaptation, and AI empowerment. (Zhen Jingyuan)