New Delhi: ShortsTV- 24x7 linear and OTT channel dedicated to short-form content has announced a partnership with Amazon to launch ShortsTV on Amazon Prime Video channels in India.
ShortsTV is already broadcasted in India across major DTH platforms including Tata Sky, Airtel TV, Dish TV, and d2h, and earlier this year, it entered India’s OTT world through the Airtel Xstream App. Through Amazon Prime Video, the short form entertainment network will now extend its reach into the Indian heartland at a cost of Rs 299 for a year, it said on Tuesday.
The collaboration is led by ShortsTV’s larger aim to expand its digital footprint in the country, and reach a new set of highly engaged viewers. Prime members will now be able to access the short film channel alongside a specially curated on-demand short film library of over 4,000 titles.
ShortsTV chief executive Carter Pilcher said, “Short films are India’s cauldron of creative energy, with some of the world’s most surprising and interesting movies emerging in what can only be described as a post-Bollywood revolution. We are thrilled to join with Amazon Prime Video to bring these ground-breaking films to audiences across the sub-continent on the Prime Video platform. Our goal to bring the short film revolution to every hamlet in India is one step closer.”
“From star-studded, internationally acclaimed films by The Academy Awards, Cannes, BAFTA, and others, to the movies produced by international, independent, and local Indian filmmakers, ShortsTV offers a complete binge-watching experience,” the company said in a statement. "In addition to a vast array of short films, the service also features various segments on local film festival coverage, film school vignettes, ‘making-of’ features, and interviews with directors, actors, and other leaders in the industry."
The service features multi-language short films across English, foreign language, and local Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu.
According to ShortsTV president- Asia Tarun Sawhney, the service will provide viewers with the flexibility to watch their favourite shorts anytime, anywhere. “Our strategy is to continue partnering with the top content aggregators in India and worldwide to present the largest selection of short films to our viewers,” he added.
Head of Prime video channels Chaitanya Divan said the streaming platform is excited to bring even more selection to its Prime members in India with the launch of Prime Video Channels. “As consumers consume more content on the go and on their mobile phones, there has been increasing interest in short-form content in India, especially high-quality short films. We are happy to collaborate with ShortsTV and provide access to their deep library of short films from across the globe to Prime Members, with an add-on subscription. Consumers can select, subscribe and enjoy their favourite short-form content all within the Prime Video app and website,” he said.