CICC: Policies enable a new cycle of AI, overseas travel, and IP co-drive development

The Zhitong Finance App learned that CICC released a research report saying that leading companies in the segmented media industry have advantages in terms of business scale, technical reserves, capital operation, etc., and are expected to be the first to benefit from industry trends. In 2025, the media sector presented an overall upward pattern in market segmentation rotation. Factors such as favorable policies, new product cycles, and outflow from China resonate, compounding the demand boom in the IP economy and the iteration of AI technology. Key companies experienced varying degrees of performance boosting and valuation restoration. Looking ahead to 2026, the bank believes that the industry is expected to welcome a new cycle empowered by policies, and AI, overseas travel, and IP will co-drive development.

CICC's main views are as follows:

Policy friendliness ushered in a new content cycle

The bank believes that the game industry has benefited from the normalization of version distribution, and that the supply side has clearly picked up, while in the short to medium term, with the gradual implementation of new radio and television regulations, the video series industry may enter a critical window for content innovation and mechanism optimization.

AI development has entered a new stage

The bank believes that in 2026, AI native applications are expected to expand further, or shift from tool assistance to creative agents, promote the increase in production capacity of online IP, film and television, and help automate content production and revenue side optimization in the fields of games, advertising, etc.

Hualu content goes out to sea

The bank believes that cultural overseas has embarked on a more mature path in the game, online article, and short drama circuit. In 2026, it is expected to move to a new stage of refinement, shifting from extensive export to “cultural core+localization adaptation”, and developing more in line with local conditions.

The IP economy is booming at an accelerated pace

The bank believes that in 2026, more commercialization paths such as domestic IP content, IP consumer goods, and IP services and experiences are expected to blossom. As all links in the industrial chain mature, the industry is expected to usher in large-scale growth and systematic value revaluation.

Industry ranking

The bank believes that the business model of the digital media and game industry is superior, that the high-quality content output capabilities of leading companies may help release profits and improve international competitiveness, and AI technology is also expected to be applied first; AI in social communities provides incremental increases and profitability is continuously optimized; marketing and advertising AI empowers the whole process, focusing on advertising efficiency and new advertising formats under the new steady state; confidence in the film and television cinema industry needs to be repaired, focusing on the trend of industrial upgrading in the medium to long term; the publishing industry emphasizes the need for resilience in educational books to stabilize and increase dividends; the scale of cable radio and television can develop steadily and focus on large-scale screen scenarios.

risk

Macroeconomic sentiment has declined, industry regulatory policies have changed, and industry competition has intensified.