ShortsTV inks content deal with Viacom18 Studios; expands its Indian short films portfolio
ShortsTV, the world’s first 24/7 channel dedicated to short films has inked a content deal with Tipping Point, the digital content production arm of Viacom18 Studios. As a part of the deal, ShortsTV has bagged the South Asia distribution rights of 15 short films featuring some of Bollywood’s top actors and directors.
ShortsTV’s depth of films is unrivalled, drawing from a growing catalogue of more than 13,000 Indian and international short films. With this new partnership, ShortsTV has added to its bouquet top Indian short films such as Maya, Geek Out, The Epiphany, Glitch, The Daughter-In-Law, Grey, Red Velvet, A(U)N Usual Day, On the Road, Joy Ride, Teaspoon, Tea, Kill Me with Love, Hidden Cricket and A Twist in Love. These boundary-breaking stories, featuring popular actors such as Vicky Kaushal, Sayani Gupta, Mona Singh, Fardeen Khan span across genres as diverse as drama, thriller, adventure and mystery and are produced by Tipping Point.
Commenting on the partnership, Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive, ShortsTV said, “In line with our endeavor to bring the highest quality short entertainment to film buffs, we are delighted to partner with Viacom18 Studios’ Tipping Point to add the most popular Indian short films to our growing library. During these unprecedented times when people are indoors and looking for new entertainment options, ShortsTV is ready to deliver content extraordinaire from across the globe, to be enjoyed from the safety of our homes.”
Commenting on the deal, Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios, said, “In just over a year, Tipping Point as a young digital content brand, has managed to create content that cuts across demographics, set genres and formulas. Our latest association with ShortsTV for our widely appreciated short films is a step towards deepening that connect with discerning consumers. From licensing our content to top Indian OTT players like VOOT or global platforms like Netflix & ShortsTV – we will continue to connect stories to audiences across the globe.”
Debuting in India in 2018 first on Tata Sky, ShortsTV is now available across all leading DTH platforms reaching over 60 million households, providing short filmmakers an excellent platform to showcase their work. ShortsTV is available ad-free on Dish TV and d2h as ‘ShortsTV Active’ (channel 135), on Airtel Digital TV as ‘Airtel ShortsTV’ (channel 259) and on Tata Sky as ‘Tata Sky ShortsTV’ (HD channel 112 and SD channel 113).
In addition, ShortsTV has founded the Best of India Short Film Festival inviting filmmakers to make their submissions aiming to qualify more Indian short films for Oscar consideration. This year, the festival has already received more than 1000 entries.