In recent years, the domestic film and television industry has flourished, with tens of thousands of TV dramas (including online dramas) being brought onto TV screens and computer phone screens every year. Almost everyone in China, with over a billion viewers, follows dramas and can discover new ones every day. In the eyes of many people, it is not difficult to shoot TV dramas. Many 40 episode TV dramas can be completed in just six months, with only a few wealthy people. But the fact is not that. There is a saying in the film and television industry that goes like a tongue twister, "With ideas, one cannot necessarily film, one cannot film, one cannot film, one cannot film, one cannot release, and one cannot release..." A TV series, from filming to broadcasting, is equivalent to passing the five hurdles and six obstacles in China's current administrative licensing and review process

Traditional TV dramas need to pass five levels and slay six generals

Level 1: Business License for TV Drama Production and Operation

Not every unit can shoot TV dramas, which is different from movies. After the implementation of the Film Industry Promotion Law on March 1, 2017, the government abolished two administrative licenses, namely the film production license and the film production license (single film). The restrictions on the subject of film production were fully relaxed, and any unit that wants to film does not need to obtain any qualifications in the field of film production in advance. However, the filming subject of TV dramas has not been relaxed. According to the relevant regulations of the "Regulations on the Production and Management of Radio and Television Programs", only units with the following qualifications are eligible to produce TV dramas:

(1) Institutions holding a "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License"

(2) TV stations at or above the prefecture level (including radio and television stations, radio and television groups)

(3) Film production institutions holding a "Film Production License" (cancelled)

So, we can see that non television stations generally need to obtain a "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" if they plan to shoot TV dramas. Central units and their directly affiliated institutions in Beijing need to apply for the "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" and submit it to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for approval; Other institutions applying for the "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" should submit an application to the local radio and television administrative department, which will be reviewed level by level and then submitted to the provincial radio and television administrative department for approval. The approval authority shall make a decision on whether to grant or not to grant permission within 15 days from the date of receiving complete application materials. For those who meet the conditions, a license shall be granted and a "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" shall be issued; For those who do not meet the conditions, no permission shall be granted, and the application institution shall be notified in writing with reasons explained.

The "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" is uniformly printed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The validity period is 2 years. Enterprises that have been approved to obtain the "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" shall apply for registration or business addition procedures at the administrative department for industry and commerce with the license, and then they shall be considered legally qualified for television drama production and operation business.

Level 2: TV Drama Production License

Units with the above qualifications are eligible to produce TV dramas, but when producing TV dramas, they also need to obtain a separate TV drama production license in advance. The TV drama production license is divided into "TV drama production license (type B)" and "TV drama production license (type A)", which are uniformly printed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

1. The "TV Drama Production License (Type B)" is limited to the use of the plays indicated in the license and is valid for no more than one year. In special circumstances, an appropriate extension may be granted with the approval of the issuing authority. The Television Drama Production License (Type B) shall be issued by the broadcasting and television administrative department at or above the provincial level. Among them, central units and their directly affiliated institutions in Beijing directly submit applications to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television; Other institutions shall submit applications to the local broadcasting and television administrative department, which shall be reviewed level by level and then submitted to the provincial broadcasting and television administrative department for approval.

The validity period of the TV Drama Production License (Type A) is 2 years, and before the expiration of the validity period, it is valid for all TV dramas produced by the licensed institution. If a television drama production institution has produced more than 6 single dramas or 3 or more series (3 episodes or more) within 2 consecutive years, it may apply for the qualification of "Television Drama Production License (Class A)" to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television in accordance with the procedures. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is responsible for issuing the "Television Drama Production License (Type A)".

Third level: Filing and publicity before shooting TV dramas

The filming and production of TV dramas in China implements a system of record keeping and publicity. According to the relevant provisions of the "Regulations on the Management of TV Drama Content", the administrative department of broadcasting, film and television under the State Council (now the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) is responsible for the publicity of national filming and production of TV dramas.

Except for production institutions that directly file with the broadcasting and film administrative department of the State Council in accordance with relevant regulations (which institutions need to obtain the consent of the higher-level business competent department in advance), other production institutions should apply for filing with the provincial-level broadcasting and film administrative department (now the provincial-level broadcasting and film administrative department) before producing TV dramas, and then report to the broadcasting and film administrative department of the State Council for publicity after review. If there are no problems after review, The "Television Drama Shooting and Production Filing Announcement Form" is publicly available on the government website of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television Administration of the State Council.

The production agency shall shoot and produce TV dramas in accordance with the publicly announced content. If there are changes to the main characters and plot of the publicly announced TV dramas, they shall be re registered and publicly announced. If the name, number of episodes, or production institution of a play is changed, the relevant change procedures shall be applied for by the provincial broadcasting, film and television administrative department or its superior business supervisory department after obtaining approval.

Fourth level: Content review and distribution permission after shooting

According to the relevant provisions of the "Regulations on the Management of TV Drama Content", TV dramas (including domestic dramas, co productions, and imported dramas) implement a content review and distribution license system. TV dramas that have not obtained distribution licenses shall not be distributed, broadcasted, or awarded. The content review agency for TV dramas is the same as the filing and publicity agency for TV drama filming and production. According to the different situations of TV dramas, the broadcasting and film administrative department of the State Council and the provincial broadcasting and film administrative department shall conduct reviews.

The examination and review responsibilities of the administrative department of broadcasting, film and television under the State Council include:

(1) Review TV dramas produced by directly registered production institutions;

(2) Review co production dramas;

(3) Review imported dramas;

(4) Review TV dramas submitted by the provincial broadcasting and film administrative department to the State Council for review;

(5) TV dramas that have caused social disputes or require review by the State Council's broadcasting, film and television administrative department due to public interests.

2. The review responsibilities of the provincial broadcasting, film and television administrative department include:

(1) Review domestic dramas produced by production institutions within the administrative region;

(2) Preliminary review of co production dramas produced by production institutions within the administrative region and overseas institutions;

(3) Preliminary review of imported dramas submitted by television stations and other institutions within the administrative region

If the content review institution of a TV drama passes the examination, a "TV Drama Distribution License" shall be issued; If it is not qualified, the submitting institution shall be notified and the reasons shall be explained in writing. TV dramas that have obtained a TV drama distribution license shall be distributed and broadcasted according to the approved content. If the title, main characters, main plot, and length of the drama are changed, the original submitting institution shall resubmit it to the original issuing authority for review in accordance with these regulations.

Level 5: Broadcasting Agency's Broadcasting Review

Before broadcasting a TV drama, a television station shall verify the legally obtained TV drama distribution license, and conduct pre broadcast review and re broadcast review of the content of the TV drama it broadcasts.

After passing the above five levels, TV dramas are likely to officially appear on the screen and face the audience. As for when it can be broadcasted, it also needs to go through multiple tests, such as the scheduling of television stations, the influence of industry policies on television themes (such as Korean restrictions and ancient restrictions), and the exposure of bad deeds by the main creators.

The Difference between Online Drama Production and Broadcasting and Traditional TV Drama

Compared to traditional TV dramas, the production and broadcasting of online dramas are not as strict and complex. Production institutions who obtain the "Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License" are qualified to shoot online dramas without obtaining the "TV Drama Production License". Before shooting online dramas, planning and filing are required, and after shooting, online filing (distribution license) can be obtained.

1、 Ordinary online drama

On July 6, 2012, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (formerly known as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) and the State Internet Information Office issued a notice on further strengthening the management of online audio-visual programs such as online dramas and microfilms. The notice requires: "Internet audio-visual program service units should implement a system of first review and then broadcast management for online audio-visual programs such as online dramas and microfilms in accordance with the principle of 'whoever runs the network is responsible'

According to the requirements of the above notice, ordinary online dramas do not need to pass content review and distribution permission. They only need to go through two registration processes, obtaining a planning registration number and an online registration number, to be broadcasted. The planning filing is carried out before the production of online dramas, mainly registering program names, theme types, content summaries, production budgets, and other planning information. Online registration is carried out after the completion of planning registration and online drama production, mainly registering relevant information such as the planned broadcasting platform, actual investment, actor remuneration, etc. The process of twice filing for ordinary online dramas is also relatively simple, as described in the "Online Audiovisual Program Information Filing System"（ http://jmba.tv.cn ）Proceed.

2、 Key online dramas

According to the Notice on the Management of Licensing Services for Domestic Network Drama Distribution, which was implemented on June 1, 2022, the broadcasting and television regulatory authorities will implement key supervision over domestic key network dramas. Online dramas, online mini dramas, online movies, and online cartoons that meet one or more of the following conditions are classified as key online dramas:

1. If the investment amount is relatively large, the specific amount shall be adjusted and notified by the competent department of broadcasting and television under the State Council in a timely manner based on the actual development and management of the network audio-visual industry;

2. Promoted by online audio-visual program service institutions for investment promotion;

3. Recommended to be broadcasted on the homepage, special sections, or special columns of the website (client);

4. Priority is given to providing member viewing or paid viewing services;

5. Online drama production and distribution entities voluntarily apply for key online dramas.

Key online dramas require one planning filing and one distribution license. Production institutions need to register and record in the "Key Network Film and Television Drama Information Filing System" before production; After the production is completed, a distribution application needs to be submitted to the local provincial radio and television management department, which will review the content, copyright, technology, and other aspects of the work. If the review is approved, report to the State Administration of Radio and Television for approval before obtaining the "Network Drama Distribution License" for online broadcasting.

From the above regulations, it can be seen that compared to traditional TV dramas, the difficulty of production and broadcast review of online dramas is greatly reduced, which also greatly promotes the prosperity and development of the online drama industry.