Dominique Delport, chairman of Vivendi Content and global managing director of Havas Media Group, opened the conference at IBC 2016 in Amsterdam yesterday (8 September) by revealing the launch date for Studio Plus – a premium short entertainment series created exclusively for mobile.

The concept was initially discussed during MIP TV in Cannes this April. Studio Plus will now go live on 11 October and debut first in Latin America, Delport announced to IBC delegates.

Studio Plus will function as an app specifically for smartphones and tablets, and will partner with local telcos to deliver one new series each week, comprising 10 episodes of 10 minutes each.

The series’ are being produced in six languages and cost €1m each to create.

Series titles so far include drama Amnesia, action series Brutal and Urban Jungle, plus thrillers including Kill Skills and Madame Hollywood. A series, developed in partnership with SnapChat called Deep Diving will see the first-ever mobile show shot in vertical video with immersive audio technology.

By mid-2017, Studio Plus will be available to 600 million people across 20 countries on both IOS and Windows 10 and will be launched into Europe before the end of this year.

“Some €35m has been invested in this unique project so far. It’s a gamble, it’s a first and it takes us into the unknown,” Delport told IBC delegates.

“Will it be a success? We certainly hope so. We think this will be the preferred mobile entertainment solution for people with ten minutes to spare, either on their commute, waiting in a queue or with time to fill but who don’t want to jump into a 50-minute TV episode.”

Studio Plus will also look to develop synergies with Vivendi’s subsidiaries, notably Canal Plus, Studiocanal and Universal Music Group. Dailymotion will be the vehicle for trailers and teasers, while Universal Music Group will no doubt provide the series soundtracks.