Shorts International, owner of ShortsTV, the global short movie network, and AMC Networks have announced a deal with free global streaming platform Plex to launch Shorts, the network’s free ad-supported TV (FAST) short movie channel.
Audiences will be treated to a taste of blockbuster international and American short films, hand-picked from the full ShortsTV catalog of 13,000 titles, including award-winning and star-studded live-action, animation, and documentary shorts. The Shorts channel will serve up uniquely curated collections of short movies categorized by actors, themes, or genres, including “Unmissable Shorts,” “Live for Laughs,” and “Stars in Shorts” with short movies featuring Judi Dench, Lily James, Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Riz Ahmed, and others.
“Watching ‘Shorts’ is a way of life. Quick hits of laugh-out loud comedy, the chills and thrills of nighttime terrors and all the glitz and glam of a proper Hollywood movie–all in the twinkle of an eye–make short movies some of the world’s best-value entertainment,” said Shorts International CEO Carter Pilcher. “We’re thrilled to be joined by AMC Networks in bringing an eye-popping channel with cutting edge films to American audiences everywhere.”
The launch of Shorts on Plex is aligned with Shorts International’s strategy to expand its footprint in the U.S. following the recent roll-out of ShortsTV’s subscription video-on-demand service on Amazon Prime Video Channels in the country, ensuring that even more Americans have access to the world’s best short films.
“The audience reception to our roll-out of FAST channels across Europe has been amazing – now it’s America’s turn to sample some of the world’s best short movie entertainment in a free ad-supported format,” ShortsTV Director of Programming Jade Tan said. “We are delighted to be bringing U.S. viewers a fantastic range of the best star-studded short movies, as well as unique short movie collections.”
Free TV streaming is exploding across the US currently, so it’s no surprise that Plex is adding content like “Shorts.” The company has some work to do in regard to rebuilding trust with its users, however, after a data breach earlier this summer.
The Plex streaming library service has been adding lots of movies and shows in the month of September, including the animal theme park documentary “Blackfish” and the Chris Rock headlined rom-com “2 Days in New York.”
Plex
Plex is a free streaming service that includes on-demand access to 50,000+ movies and TV shows. The service also offers 1,100+ free-to-stream live TV channels in 193 countries. Users can also connect Plex to their computers to stream and share any media they have on their hard drives.