When the dancers of the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater danced "Moonlight Night on the Spring River" in the live broadcast room, and "Professional theater troupes are different" floated in the barrage, few people realized that this performance was a "second stage" specially choreographed for the live broadcast room.
On October 12, the 6th Douyin Live Broadcast Organization Conference opened at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center. More than a thousand live broadcast organizations gathered together to discuss the new development path of the performing arts live broadcast industry around the theme of "Starting new and walking together all the way".
An institutional conference reflects the transformation of an industry. From being driven by traffic in the early days to now paying equal attention to standardized governance and content development, the performing arts live broadcast industry is undergoing a profound transformation from a track to an industry.
Any emerging business format cannot move from disorder to order without the protection of rules. Live entertainment broadcasts are no exception.
This year, the government work report clearly proposed "new popular literature and art under the conditions of prosperous Internet". This is the first time that the expression "new popular literature and art" has been included in the government work report. In 2025, the "Operation Service Requirements for Online Performance Brokerage Agencies" will be officially implemented, setting standards for the industry from multiple dimensions such as contract services, protection of minors, and operational specifications. This means that as an important part of new popular literature and art, live broadcast of performing arts has its social and cultural value confirmed at the institutional level.
Governance at the platform level is also increasing. In order to further standardize the group broadcast ecosystem, protect the legitimate rights and interests of practitioners, and promote high-quality development of all parties in the industry, in July 2025, Douyin announced the upgrade of the "Douyin Live Group Broadcast Content Management Specifications" and simultaneously released the "Douyin Live Group Broadcast Organization Management Specifications". The platform also continues to upgrade the "safe membership policy", refines the criteria for determining violations, strengthens the protection of the rights and interests of anchors, and takes measures such as warnings, restrictions on operations, or removal of institutions that infringe the rights and interests of anchors.
From the introduction of industry standards to the implementation of platform rules, the regulatory system for performing arts live broadcasts is extending from a single content review to deeper levels such as institutional compliance operations and anchor rights protection. Delineating the “bottom line” is precisely to enable practitioners to pursue the “high line” without distraction.
Standards draw boundaries, while technology expands space. Currently, the focus of competition in the performing arts live broadcast industry is shifting from the number of anchors and traffic scale to content quality, user understanding and operating capabilities.
Among them, technical tools have become an important starting point for organizations to improve quality and efficiency. According to reports, the "AI broker" function of the Douyin platform can provide operational assistance based on the anchor's operating data within the scope of authorization, serving more than 23,000 broker users every week, and supports functions such as quick data checking, intelligent attribution of operating fluctuations, and one-click generation of review reports.
The launch of these tools essentially helps organizations shift their business capabilities from relying on personal experience to being systematic and replicable.
The most exciting change in live entertainment is the entry of professional forces.
More and more professional film and television production teams and state-owned art troupes are joining the ranks of live broadcasts. As of July 2026, 598 state-owned art troupes and nearly 9,000 professional actors from 30 provinces across the country have settled on the Douyin platform, with a total of 1.28 million broadcasts and more than 6.72 billion viewers.
In the live broadcast room, feedback from netizens confirmed the public’s real demand for high-quality literary and artistic content. "This is a dimensionality reduction attack by a professional troupe" "The professional dancers have solid skills and it is a pleasure to watch." These comments show that the combination of professional power and live broadcast platforms is not a downgrade of artistic expression, but allows traditional art to find new presentation methods and communication channels in the digital age. Adhering to artistic standards and adapting to the live broadcast format are not contradictory, but rather empowering each other.
From a traffic track to a long-term career, a paradigm shift in the entertainment live streaming industry is taking place. When standardized governance consolidates the foundation, technical tools improve efficiency, professional strength expands space, and ecological co-construction gathers cohesion, the high-quality development path of performing arts live broadcast will become wider and wider, and more people will be able to encounter good content and experience real culture in the live broadcast room.
