Hongguo hits 168M DAU and 125 min/day: two writers clash over ByteDance's time empire
dotey · x · 2026-10-29
Nomura, citing QuestMobile, reports Douyin overtook WeChat in time spent in July, with ByteDance apps taking 40.9% of China's Top-50 app time vs Tencent's 29.1%. Two Chinese writers draw opposite conclusions.
Hongguo's numbers
- 168M DAU in July, doubled in a year, surpassing the four major long-video platforms combined (155M, non-deduplicated)
- China's No.4 app by total time; users average 125 min/day, more than Douyin or WeChat
- Official denied the viral '¥40B annual revenue' claim
Qin Shuo: a time absorber
He credits four drivers: algorithm hooks (1-3 min episodes), supply (430k micro-dramas launched in 8 months, 13x all of last year, >90% AI-made), ecosystem (Douyin traffic + Fanqie novel IP), and free-with-ads revenue sharing. His worry: 125 daily minutes crowding out reading, thinking, and family time.
Cheng Lingfeng: AI drama is the real bomb
Douyin is AI-managed distribution; Hongguo is vertical AI-managed production — one editor plus AI turns out hundreds of episodes per season. Next step: AI controls both production and distribution, with personalized plots and ads woven into storylines. Tencent launched 'Green Bubble Shorts' in response.
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