SHANGHAI – A frenzy for AI-generated dramas is sending investors rushing into Mango Excellent Media, putting the Chinese broadcaster on track to become Asia’s hottest stock this week.
Shares of the firm have jumped as much as 64 per cent, setting up their biggest weekly gain since January 2015 and making Mango Excellent Media the top performer on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.
The rally was sparked by The Later Journey to the West, which premiered on Aug 31 as China’s first fully AI-generated long-form TV drama.
Its debut set off a buying spree across the sector, boosting Kunlun Tech, and China Literature, as traders bet artificial intelligence-made content could be the industry’s next growth story.
Companies in this space have reported sharp growth in revenue and user engagement from AI dramas, fuelling expectations that the technology may open new earning streams and change the economics of traditional content creation.
Regulators have also played a role.
The series is the first to launch under China’s new “review-while-broadcasting” model, which waives the requirement for all episodes to be completed and approved before airing.
Instead, producers can make and submit episodes for review in phases, giving them more flexibility to tweak content as a series runs.
It’s “a policy and production milestone for broadcasters and long-form platforms,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Rebecca Xu wrote in a note.
“We see the policy shift as positive for platforms such as Mango and iQIYI amid rising competition from AI-enabled content and platforms.”
China National Radio reported that about 128,000 micro-drama titles hit the market in the first quarter – and a staggering 95 per cent of them were AI-generated.
That rapid expansion is stoking optimism that video production could emerge as one of the key areas for commercial AI adoption in the country.
The enthusiasm may even extend beyond content creators.
Citigroup said investors are overlooking the more immediate commercial potential of China’s advanced AI video models.
While ByteDance’s Seedance is seen as the industry benchmark for video quality, rivals are finding their own niches, analysts including Brian Gong wrote in a recent note.
MiniMax Group’s H3 offers near-premium quality at a competitive price, and Kuaishou Technology’s Kling has built a strong global user base and is pushing to challenge industry leaders, they added. BLOOMBERG
