The Puzzle: Two Names, One Suspect

A search for “short tv” in an app store returns a swarm of look-alike apps, the press history of a Chinese studio and, buried somewhere in the middle, a hit app named ShortMax. The puzzle this file attempts to untangle is exactly that tangle. The working theory is simple: reel shorts website the app now sold as ShortMax and the ShortTV brand that a Chinese producer announced for the US, Canada and Australia are one and the same. That theory is strong, but it is not proven, because no official rename announcement has turned up. So instead of taking anyone’s word for it, we will walk through the public records one clue at a time. The strength comes from how neatly the clues line up, as each clue is small on its own. More usefully, by the end you should be able to steer clear of installing the wrong short tv drama app, as well as judge the claim yourself.

The First Clue: The Package Name on Android

Each Android app carries a package name, a fixed internal ID that rarely changes even when the storefront title does. ShortMax’s Google Play listing uses the package live.shorttv.apps. Unless the app started life under another name, that is an odd choice for a brand called ShortMax. At the very beginning, before marketing settles on a final title, developers typically pick the package ID. For that reason, a package spelling out “shorttv” is precisely the kind of fingerprint that survives a rebrand. A package name, on its own, does not document a history; it only suggests one. The same ID also appears in the web address of the Play listing, so anyone can confirm this clue in seconds.

Second Clue: The Legal Entity Behind It

Both app stores’ fine print holds the second clue. In the App Store, ShortMax’s seller is SHORTTV LIMITED. The developer is shown as SHORTMAX LIMITED on Google Play, while the legal entity behind it is again SHORTTV LIMITED, with an address in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong. Hong Kong law also governs the company’s terms of service. A studio renaming its consumer product while keeping the original company name is a well-known pattern in app publishing. It does not prove the brands are the same, but it puts ShortTV’s name on the contract you accept when you pay for ShortMax.

Clue Three: When It Launched

The third thread is timing. Per Baidu’s encyclopedia entry, ShortTV launched in September 2023. The same month saw ShortMax appear, with Google Play listing September 3, 2023 and the App Store giving September 11, 2023. The simpler explanation of the overlap is a single product that launched once and later traded under a new name. Near-identical names on two unrelated brands debuting within the same few weeks would make for a striking coincidence. China Daily was still calling Jiuzhou’s English-market app ShortTV in January 2024, a few months after that launch. Even so, a shared month is circumstantial, which is why it matters mainly in combination with the other clues.

The Fourth Clue: The Redirect Between Domains

The fourth clue is the easiest to verify, because it happens in your browser. As of September 2026, a permanent 301 redirect forwards anyone visiting shortmax.com to shorttv.live. Browsing on the web of the same dramas the app streams is offered on that destination site. The redirect ties both names to one operator, because companies usually point a domain only at property they control. A permanent redirect is not an accident of search results but a deliberate server setting. Even though nobody has written it down in a press release, this is the closest thing in this file to a signed statement.

Clue Five: The Copyright Line

A footer is the final piece of evidence. A ShortMax page on the shorttv.live site carries the line “© 2024 SHORTTV LIMITED”. Copyright notices tend to name the entity that actually owns the content and the site. The pattern is hard to read any other way when this is combined with the package name, the seller, the launch month and the redirect. That said, careful readers should treat the rename as likely but unconfirmed. Nobody could find an official announcement of a switch from ShortTV to ShortMax, and the company might describe its brands differently in the future.

Who Is Behind It: Jiuzhou Culture

Standing behind the ShortTV name is Jiuzhou Culture, a Chinese short-drama producer. Jiuzhou launched two overseas apps, per a January 2024 report in China Daily: 99TV for Southeast Asia and ShortTV for the US, Canada and Australia. Per that same report, Jiuzhou had produced more than 600 mini-dramas for overseas markets. Of these titles, about 80% were dubbed adaptations of Chinese productions, while the remaining 20% were original overseas shoots. According to the company’s figures, the cost of a 70-episode short series came to $100,000 to $150,000. This blend is the reason the catalog holds both dubbed Chinese stories and locally shot originals. Today, ShortMax’s own listing claims more than 50,000 dramas in 19 languages, a company figure not independently audited. Those numbers date from early 2024, so treat them as a snapshot rather than a current tally. What connects this studio to the ShortMax brand you see in stores today is the ownership trail through SHORTTV LIMITED.

The Look-Alike Apps Problem

The case gets messier here, because the short tv name is not protected in app store search. Several unrelated developers publish apps with nearly identical titles, and none of them is connected to Jiuzhou or ShortMax. The developer field is the only place the differences show up, and most people never look at it. Any one of these can easily get installed instead by anyone looking for a shorts app from the ShortTV team. The table below lists the developer names recorded in the store listings as of September 2026. Do not treat the icon or title as the real ID; treat the developer name as the real ID.

How Much It Costs

With ShortTV and ShortMax appearing to be one product, pricing follows the ShortMax listing. In the US App Store as of September 2026, the Weekly Pass Pro is priced at about $19.99 a week, with a cheaper tier at about $9.99. Because the US store lists only weekly passes, monthly or yearly plans could not be confirmed. Single purchases run from about $3.49 to $24.99, and prices differ by country, platform and promotion. Per the terms, passes are renewed automatically 24 hours before they expire, and refunds are denied unless the service is unusable because of ShortMax. App Store reviewers also complain about episodes costing up to 60 coins without clear pricing up front. In its own replies on Google Play, the developer acknowledges that its “free trial” wording confused some users. Cancellation happens in the App Store or Google Play subscription settings, and deleting the app does not stop the billing.

Before Installing: A Quick Checklist

A handful of checks take less than a minute and prevent most mix-ups. Making sure you are getting the Jiuzhou-linked app and not a look-alike is the goal. Before you start a short series you cannot afford to finish, it also helps you spot the pricing traps. Stay away from any site offering modded versions or “unlimited coins”, because those are unofficial and risky. None of these steps requires special tools, only the store page itself. This list is worth going through before you tap install.

1. Make sure that the developer or seller reads SHORTTV LIMITED or SHORTMAX LIMITED.
2. Confirm that the install count on Google Play is at 100M+.
3. To check current weekly pass prices in your country, check the in-app purchase list.
4. Remember that passes renew automatically until you cancel in your store settings.
5. Skip any app whose developer name matches none of the above, however similar the title.