Vivendi to Shut Down Studio+, Its Mobile Series App

Vivendi is preparing to shut down Studio+, its app dedicated to mobile-native scripted series, barely two years after its launch in 2016.A spokesperson for the company confirmed to Variety that the Studio+ app is about to be axed. But he said production of short-format digital series, suitable for viewing on mobile phones, would continue under Vivendi’s Studiocanal banner and be distributed through Canal Plus Group’s pay OTT service, Mycanal, and its video-sharing platform, Dailymotion.Canal Plus Group will honor its existing deals with telco companies, including Telefonica in Latin America and Orange and Bouygues in France, by delivering Studio+ mobile series already in production. These deals with telco groups, which allowed Studio+ to claim up to 5 million subscribers, will end in late 2018-2019, according to an industry source.