At the beginning of this year, TikTok announced the launch of PineDrama, an application with vertical video microdramas; and Netflix was redesigning its application to accommodate this format. In March Disney+ announced Verts, a feature on its platform with short vertical videos to discover movies and series. And in this competitive panorama Shorta seeks to carve out a niche for itself, which presents itself as the first platform for original series in vertical format in Latin America.
With a proposal based on premium vertical fiction, it seeks to capitalize on the evolution of a panorama in which audiovisual consumption and creation habits are undergoing rapid transformation, influenced by the omnipresence of mobile phones. It aspires to consolidate itself in a market that, as stated in the specialized magazine Varietycould reach $26 billion globally by 2030.
It will accommodate the creativity and talent of the film industry, as well as digital creators
Behind the project are Armando Bo, Founder of the production company Rebolución and About Entertainment; Tomás Escobar, Founder of the Cuevana content platform; and Ariel Arrieta, Founder of Digital Ventures. Together they have launched what they define as a multi-genre global vertical platform, since it will accommodate the creativity and talent of the film industry, as well as digital creators.
Its formula is based on original and contemporary content, and on the combination of technology and entertainment to attract eminently digital audiences. In this sense, as the company points out in a statement, the key to its proposal lies in the convergence of cinematographic narrative, digital distribution and a business model driven by technology.
The platform, active since March 30, already has a dozen original microseries available, although more than 40 titles are already part of its catalog. The productions, designed to be enjoyed on a mobile screen. They offer stories in a wide range of genres: from horror and science fiction, to comedy, thriller and romance. With this, Shorta transcends the borders of melodrama, the genre that has defined the category of narrative in vertical format until now.
Among the microseries already available you can find “Truth or Shot”, a thriller with erotic notes that follows a night with friends in which confessions become dangerous revelations with unsuspected consequences.
For his part, Shorta already offers complete chapters of “Fuerte al Medio”, a comedy set in the world of amateur soccer in Buenos Aires. It stars Jero Freixas, a popular Argentine content creator specialized in soccer. The series accompanies the context of the upcoming World Cup celebration.
Over the next few weeks Shorta will premiere the horror microseries “Rumá” and “Anomaly”; the musical “Rome: Battle of Promises”; the thriller “Deuda” or the romantic comedy “Independencia”. The platform’s catalog will continue to grow progressively, until it exceeds 500 original productions throughout Latin America before December 2027, according to the plans of its managers.
The first productions are of Argentine origin, but Shorta will include Spanish-speaking dramas from different markets to offer local stories adapted to each country. This represents one of the competitive advantages of the platform, as it is an offer, at least initially, completely in Spanish.
Shorta’s ambition goes beyond consolidating itself as a content platform aimed at new forms of consumption on portable devices. The company aspires to lead a new way of narrating and telling stories, with specific writing and production processes for microseries, and combining traditional entertainment with the new formulas of the digital universe.
More info: Shorta
