ShortsTV a well-known short film destination which was earlier limited to only Tata Sky subscribers in India will now be available to subscribers of Airtel TV and Dish TV. Expanding its distribution and going beyond Tata Sky, ShortsTV is truly the more benefiting party from this exclusive association.
Medianews4u caught up with Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive of ShortsTV for a quick chat on their distribution expansion along with current content offering and the way forward for the service in India.
How has the partnership with Tata Sky benefitted ShortsTV?
Tata Sky was our exclusive launch partner in India so they enabled us to bring ShortsTV to Indian audiences for the first time. We’ve been one of their fastest growing services this year, helped largely by the huge marketing effort they put behind the service. So, partnering with them has been a fantastic start for us in India!
What is the current content catalogue of ShortsTV? How are you increasing and diversifying the same?
ShortsTV has the largest catalogue of high-quality short entertainment in the world with 13,000+ titles. We also have the best shorts from around the world, from gripping live action to cutting edge animations and thought-provoking documentaries, as well as hours of award winners and movie stars. And we create our own original shows, putting the spotlight on emerging and established talent and bringing audiences into the fast-paced world of short filmmaking.
In India, currently about 30% of our content is Indian produced and we’re working to increase that amount by acquiring content from leading producers around the country. So far, we’ve already partnered with some of India’s best short film producers, including Large Short Films, Terribly Tiny Tales and Humara Movies.
What made you partner with Dish TV and Airtel TV? What are the consumption trends that you have spotted here?
We want to make sure ShortsTV is available to as many people in India as possible. Partnering with Airtel Digital TV and Dish TV/d2h has enabled us to triple our reach in the country to over 85% of Direct-to-Home (DTH) homes. We’ve noticed that demand for short films and ShortsTV is not just limited to the big metro cities as we’re also getting a lot of interest and subscribers from tier 2 cities around the country.
How is ShortsTV mobile friendly? How can one access the content on mobile devices for individual streaming and entertainment…?
ShortsTV is currently available on Tata Sky’s mobile app. We’ve also launched our own ShortsTV app, which uses a similar machine-learning algorithm to Spotify allowing viewers to create their own movie channels. It’s currently in beta testing in the US with AT&T, and we’re aiming to bring it to Indian audiences in 2020.
What is the Regional Content play of ShortsTV?
We see regional content as hugely important as there are many emerging filmmakers producing exciting short films in different parts of the country. Our acquisitions team is always on the look-out for more regional films to add to our service.
What are further expansion plans – content acquisition, focus on OTT platforms?
We’re in talks with various mobile and OTT platforms about launching our service as well as our app. It’s an exciting time for us because there is already a wave of enthusiasm for short entertainment in India and consumption of content on mobiles is booming, which is the perfect platform for us to expand further. We’re also looking to expand our content acquisitions and productions by partnering with more local filmmakers to create original Indian short productions.
What kind of content has been curated for the millennial generation?
Millennials are open to all kinds of content. In particular they are more open to edgy and provocative films than earlier generations, which short films are great at delivering and which we have a lot of on ShortsTV. There is a lot of creativity in the short entertainment space as filmmakers are more likely to push the boundaries and create interesting new stories than with feature films.
