Zhihu, Douyue, Xiaohongshu: Wie weit können Kurzdramen das Geschäft der Online-Literatur tragen?

When it has become the norm that an IP is used in multiple short - films and the formula with famous actors is applied over and over again, while the cost of originality is so high that it is discouraging, the rapidly growing short - film industry stands at the crossroads of content sources. With its overwhelming number of IPs, Fanqie Xiaoshuo is currently the biggest "water source", but the high consumption rate of IPs and the strong homogeneity force the short - film industry to look for the next potential "water storage".

In view of the urgent need for high - quality IPs in the short - film and comic - film industry, the three platforms Zhihu Yanyan Gushi, Douban Reading and Xiaohongshu, which, although having different styles, all invest in online literature, each have unique "IP pools". However, they all face the great challenge of making the transition from a text community to the film and television industry.

From the different ways, potentials and risks of these three platforms to "regenerate" through short - films, one can recognize who is really able to relieve the "content hunger" of the short - film industry and who has the potential to emerge as a new "IP source". Which of these platforms - Zhihu Yanyan Gushi, Douban Reading or Xiaohongshu - will become an important IP incubator to supplement the differentiated content of Fanqie?

Zhihu: Can "Yanyan Gushi" "win" in commercialization?

Among all the platforms trying to "stay alive" through short - films, Zhihu is the most determined and at the same time the one under the greatest financial pressure.

According to Zhihu's first - quarter report in 2026, the revenue in the first quarter was 652 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 10.70%, while the revenue increased by 1.3% compared with the previous quarter. The net loss was 8.504 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease in the loss of 15.75%. After adjustment, the net profit was 17.16 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 147.2%, and a profit was achieved compared with the previous quarter.

From the analysis of the business structure, it can be seen that the revenue from paid content and IP operation at Zhihu was 402 million yuan, accounting for 61.7% of the total revenue. The revenue from marketing services was 191 million yuan, accounting for 29.4% of the total revenue, and the other revenue was 57.8 million yuan, accounting for 8.9% of the total revenue. It can be seen that paid content and IP operation at Zhihu still represent the core revenue source.

Yanyan Gushi is a platform for reading original short stories, which was launched by Zhihu on March 15, 2023, and officially announced on May 18 of the same year. It comes from the Zhihu community and is designed as a platform for native short stories. It focuses on providing high - quality content that can be read in 10 to 20 minutes and covers more than 180 categories such as love stories, crime stories, science fiction and real emotions. The rise of Yanyan Gushi is essentially a "precise collision" with the traditional models of online literature. Although it cannot completely break away from the market - validated emotional frameworks such as "love pain", "rise" and "sweet love story", the platform has still developed many IPs with adaptation potential.

The Entertainment Value Officer has found that there have already been several blockbusters from Zhihu IP adaptations. Short - films such as "Jinwu Cangjiao", "Jun Xin Si Ji", "Yue Guang Yong Bu Zhui Luo" and "Huan Yan" have achieved a total of over 3 billion views worldwide. AI - comic films such as "Di Nu Qi Xue" and "Wo Yao Hui Niang Jia" have also achieved 1 billion views worldwide. The results of IP adaptations are remarkable. Short - films from high - quality IPs such as "Yang Yu Lan" and "Ting Yin" have dominated the charts during the Chinese New Year period, which proves that the top - notch content has strong market appeal. The strategy of high - quality blockbusters and the case where a single author has achieved up to 2 million yuan in copyright revenues have exerted a strong attraction on high - quality authors.

Zhihu also does not hide its plans to use AIGC technology. Wang Han, the CFO of Zhihu, told the media that AI short - films and comic films as well as AI data are the two investment directions of Zhihu. The latter is the one that "sells water and shovels" for the development of AI, while the former is the content that users are most likely to pay for.

Data from DataEye - ADX shows that from January to May this year, Yanyan Gushi has achieved an associated view increase of 6.834 billion with 251 AI films and thus ranks first in the industry. It is the rights - holder with the highest associated view number.

Image source: DataEye - ADX data

While the AI - comic films of Yanyan Gushi offer room for fantasy, there are also great uncertainties. There is already a risk of content homogeneity in the field of AI - comic films, and the acceptance of AI - generated content by users still needs to be tested by time. Therefore, the AI - comic film is not a "life - saving straw".

In addition, the biggest challenge in converting Zhihu IPs into short - films is to find the balance between "high - quality" and "mass - production". If AIGC quickly floods the markets with an industrial production line, the high - quality content that requires time and more creative efforts may lose value.

The Entertainment Value Officer has found that many authors express concerns about the traffic on Zhihu, especially about the poor numbers for short stories. An author said in 2025: "Since August, I couldn't even get 20 likes for the beginning of my text."

As a platform that functions as a "water source" for IPs, Zhihu must first become permanently profitable through the sale of IPs. Otherwise, it will only enrich the short - film industry with its own IPs. When the industry's bonus period is over and the competition becomes more intense, one has to wonder whether it will be online literature that "keeps Zhihu alive" or whether it will consume itself acceleratedly. This requires the wisdom of the corporate management and mechanisms to protect good authors.

Douban Reading: Can high - quality reading lead to a new short - film sector?

In 2023, Douban Reading stabilized its position as an IP provider with the successful adaptations of the series "Zhuang Qiang Qi Shi Lu" and "Jiu Yi Ren". The adaptation of the novel "Liu Zi Mei" serialized by Yibei on Douban Reading ranked among the top 10 of the annual view - count list. "Ming Xuan Yi Sheng" has established itself as a high - quality crime series on iQiyi, and "Shu Xia You Pian Hong Fang Zi" was the best - rated youth series in 2025. At the beginning of this year, both series, "Nü Shen Meng Shang Yan" and "Yin Shen De Ming Zi", which were adapted from Douban Reading IPs, received a rating of 7 points or higher on Douban.

In the film and television market, Douban Reading has shown a stable IP output and has particularly excelled in the genres of realism, women, youth and crime. According to a statistic from Nandu Entertainment, Douban Reading has sold more than 200 novels to the film and television industry so far, with almost half being women's and crime stories. When viewers are tired of exaggerated and sensational stories and are interested in realism and immersive effects, the literary works of Douban Reading, which aim at traditional films and high - quality reading, prove to be particularly suitable.

Since Douban Reading is popular in the long - film industry, it was only logical that the short - film industry also turned to it. In April this year, Dai Qin, the CEO of Douban Reading, told the media that the revenue from film and television rights of Douban Reading accounts for more than half, and the selling price for the long - film adaptation of a single IP ranges from a few dozen to a few million yuan. In recent years, dozens of film and television rights were sold each year, but since this year, since the start of short - film activities, the number of sold rights has increased to a few hundred.

Official data shows that in the first two months of 2026, Douban Reading has already sold 14 film and television rights, including 10 short - films. In particular, the five short - films "Man Tuo Luo", "Huang Que Feng", "Ta Xian Ai Shang Ta De", "Xin Dong Shang Shang Qian" and "Yu Ai Wei Lin", which were adapted from Douban Reading IPs, have filled the gap in the short - film industry that is too dependent on Fanqie Xiaoshuo. For example, four days after its release on the Hongguo short - film platform, the short - film "Man Tuo Luo" achieved a popularity of over 100 million and an audience of over 1 billion, which means a good start for Douban Reading IPs in the short - film market.

The works of Douban Reading have a natural "fresh atmosphere", which has prompted many authors interested in literary styles to publish their novels here. However, not all of these fresh online novels meet the adaptation requirements, and therefore neither the traffic nor the revenue can meet the expectations of some authors. An author expressed his dissatisfaction with the platform on social media: "I don't know where to go as an author other than Douban. I like to write crime stories and have a bit of the 'disease' of literary youths. I've already written three books, but there's no traffic. I've wanted to leave for a long time, but I don't know where to go."

The vice - chairman of a leading short - film company told the Entertainment Value Officer that for short - film production companies, the value of Douban Reading lies in the "differentiation" and "rarity" of its content. Although the works of Douban Reading have a natural exclusivity and freshness, this industry insider also expressed his concerns: "The strength of Douban Reading is at the same time its weakness. The creation ecosystem is designed for quality and care, and the production volume and the update speed of the works cannot compete with that of Fanqie Xiaoshuo, which produces thousands of works per day. However, the short - film industry is in a race against time, and it remains to be seen whether Douban Reading's slow and low - volume IP supply model can keep up with the rapid pace of the short - film industry."

Xiaohongshu: Can community emotions create new IP reserves?

Since 2024, Xiaohongshu has started the online literature business. Although this was not particularly eye - catching, it has still attracted some attention on the platform. In 2024, many authors tried to profit from the first traffic opportunities on Xiaohongshu. However, feedback such as "no readers" and "zero likes" has gradually cooled the enthusiasm of authors for online literature creation.