As short-form video begins to dominate global viewing habits, a new monetization playbook is emerging — one driven by watch time, scalable content formats and increasingly, AI-generated storytelling. That shift was in focus at the FilMart forum “Breaking Boundaries Going Global: Billion-Level Monetization Through Short Dramas & AI-Generated Comic Dramas,” where industry players mapped out the next phase of the digital content economy.
Data shared during the session underscored the scale — and imbalance — of the current ecosystem. Indonesia ranks first globally in YouTube watch time, followed by Taiwan, while revenue continues to be led by the U.S., with Taiwan trailing. The gap highlights a structural reality: engagement is surging fastest in Asia, even as monetization remains concentrated in Western markets.
Against this backdrop, Cloe Tai, senior manager and head of TV and film at Google, argued that platforms and creators alike must rethink how value is extracted from audiences beyond conventional metrics.
She outlined a monetization framework built around timelines and revenue curves, pointing to aggregation strategies — including compilation edits and extended-format videos — as key tools for maximizing watch time and, by extension, advertising yield. Membership models, she added, are increasingly important in segmenting audiences and unlocking higher-value revenue streams in a crowded attention economy.
At the same time, the rise of AI-generated short dramas and AI-generated comic dramas is rapidly reshaping both production and monetization logics. As global acceptance grows, these formats are giving rise to a parallel content economy defined by speed, scalability and lower production thresholds.
Returning to platform governance, Cloe noted that monetization policies for AI content are evolving in tandem. Evaluation now extends beyond individual videos to entire channels, including whether content provides sustained user value and whether AI-generated elements are transparently disclosed.
“We try to approach this from the user’s perspective, applying consistent standards to both originality and authenticity,” Cloe said.
Panelists agreed that the next phase will hinge not only on monetization rules, but also on how recommendation systems and ad-tech infrastructures adapt to the volume and variability of AI-generated content.
Cao Rui, co-founder of Kukan Culture, said the proliferation of YouTube channels and AI-generated formats has already reconfigured global audiovisual consumption patterns. Since its founding in 2018, the company has built a network of more than 2,000 channels and over 300 million users, with short dramas and AI-generated comic content accounting for a growing share.
Echoing platform data, Cao pointed to Southeast Asia as a high-growth market, particularly for localized and translated content.
“Viewing performance, cultural preferences and even content duration can directly influence revenue outcomes,” she said, emphasizing the need for region-specific strategies in a fragmented global market.
Looking ahead, Chen Hetian of Vidu AI projected that AI live-action dramas and AI-generated comic dramas could generate as much as RMB 50 billion ($7 billion) in revenue this year alone, signaling the rapid commercialization of what was until recently an experimental space.
But that growth, he cautioned, will come with structural shifts. An oversupply of content is likely to increase the leverage of distribution platforms, while monetization models — spanning ad-supported, free and subscription-based systems — will further fragment audiences and create new pathways for niche genres.
At the same time, Chen said that China is positioning itself as a potential export hub for AI-driven content, from platform monetization and outsourced production of AI-generated short dramas to the international rollout of creative tools and models such as MovieFlow.
Taken together, the discussion pointed to a broader realignment already underway: as short-form video and AI-generated storytelling converge, Asia is emerging not just as a growth market, but as a testing ground for scalable, technology-driven content models that could redefine the economics of global entertainment.
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