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The Case: One Suspect, Two Names

Search “short tv” in an app store and you are shown a crowd of look-alike apps, a Chinese studio’s press history and, somewhere in the middle, a hit app called ShortMax. That tangle is the case this file tries to untangle. The working theory is simple: the app now sold as ShortMax and the ShortTV brand announced by a Chinese producer for the US, Canada and Australia are one and the same. No official rename announcement has surfaced, so the theory, though strong, is not proven. That is why we will walk through the public records one clue at a time https://www.reelshorts.org/where-to-watch/how-i-see-through-you/ instead of taking anyone’s word for it. Each clue is small on its own, and the weight comes from how neatly they line up. You ought to be able to judge the claim yourself by the end and, more practically, avoid installing the wrong short tv drama app.

The First Clue: The Android Package ID

The package name is a fixed internal ID that every Android app carries, and it rarely changes even when the storefront title does. In Google Play, ShortMax’s listing relies on the package live.shorttv.apps. For a brand named ShortMax, that is an odd choice, unless the app began under another name. Right at the start, before marketing settles on a final title, developers usually choose the package ID. A package name that spells out “shorttv” is therefore the kind of fingerprint that survives a rebrand. On its own, though, a package name only suggests a history; it does not document one. Because the ID also appears in the web address of the Play listing, this clue can be confirmed by anyone in seconds.

Clue Two: The Entity on Record

The second clue lies in the fine print of both app stores. ShortMax’s seller on the App Store is SHORTTV LIMITED. While Google Play shows the developer as SHORTMAX LIMITED, the legal entity behind it is once again SHORTTV LIMITED, with an address in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong. Its terms of service, too, are governed by Hong Kong law. A studio renaming its consumer product while keeping the original company name is a common pattern in app publishing. It puts ShortTV’s name on the contract you accept when you pay for ShortMax, even though it does not prove the brands are the same.

Third Clue: When It Launched

Thread number three comes down to timing. According to Baidu’s encyclopedia entry, ShortTV went live in September 2023. ShortMax appeared in the same month, with Google Play listing September 3, 2023 and the App Store listing September 11, 2023. Nearly identical names on two unrelated brands debuting within the same few weeks would make for a remarkable coincidence. One product that launched once and later traded under a new name explains the overlap more simply. Only a few months after that launch, in January 2024, China Daily was still referring to Jiuzhou’s English-market app as ShortTV. That said, a shared month is circumstantial, which is why it matters mainly in combination with the other clues.

Fourth Clue: The Domain Redirect

Since it happens in your browser, the fourth clue is the easiest to verify. As of September 2026, opening shortmax.com produces a permanent 301 redirect to shorttv.live. Web browsing of the same dramas the app streams is available on that destination site. The redirect ties both names to one operator, since companies normally point a domain only at property they control. Nothing about a permanent redirect is an accident of search results; it is a deliberate server setting. Nobody has written it down in a press release, yet it is nonetheless the closest thing in this file to a signed statement.

Clue Five: The Copyright Notice

The last piece of evidence is a footer. Copyright lines tend to name the entity that actually owns the content and the site. The line “© 2024 SHORTTV LIMITED” appears on a ShortMax page on the shorttv.live site. The pattern is hard to read any other way once this is taken together with the package name, the seller, the launch month and the redirect. The rename should still be treated by careful readers as likely but unconfirmed. Nobody could find an official announcement of a switch from ShortTV to ShortMax, and the company may describe its brands differently in the future.

Who Is Behind It: Jiuzhou Culture

Jiuzhou Culture, a Chinese short-drama producer, is the company behind the ShortTV name. Jiuzhou launched two overseas apps, according to a January 2024 report in China Daily: 99TV for Southeast Asia and ShortTV for the US, Canada and Australia. The same report stated 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. By the company’s estimate, a 70-episode short series costs $100,000 to $150,000. Dubbed Chinese stories as well as locally shot originals appear in the catalog, and that mix explains it. ShortMax’s own listing now claims more than 50,000 dramas in 19 languages, a company figure that has not been independently audited. Dating from early 2024, those figures are best read as a snapshot rather than a current tally. This studio is linked to the ShortMax brand you see in stores today by the ownership trail that runs 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. None of the several unrelated developers who publish apps with nearly identical titles is connected to Jiuzhou or ShortMax. The developer field is the only place the differences show up, and most people never read it. Any one of these can easily end up installed instead by someone looking for a shorts app from the ShortTV team. Developer names as recorded in the store listings appear in the table as of September 2026. Treat the developer name, not the icon or title, as the real ID.

How Much It Costs

Given that ShortTV and ShortMax appear to be one product, pricing follows the ShortMax listing. As of September 2026, the Weekly Pass Pro in the US App Store costs about $19.99 a week, while a cheaper tier sits at about $9.99. Monthly or annual plans could not be verified, since the US store lists only weekly passes. Prices vary by country, platform and promotion, and one-time purchases range from about $3.49 to $24.99. The terms state passes renew automatically 24 hours before they expire, and refunds are refused unless the service is unusable because of ShortMax. Another complaint from App Store reviewers involves episodes costing up to 60 coins without clear pricing up front. The developer’s own responses on Google Play admit that its “free trial” wording confused some users. The App Store or Google Play subscription settings are where cancelling happens, and deleting the app does not stop the billing.

Before You Install: A Short Checklist

In less than a minute, a few checks head off most mix-ups. Confirming you are getting the Jiuzhou-linked app and not a look-alike is the whole point. Before you start a short series you cannot afford to finish, it also helps you spot the pricing traps. Only the store page itself is needed; none of these steps requires special tools. Sites offering modded versions or “unlimited coins” should be avoided, because those are unofficial and risky. This list is worth running through before you tap install.

1. Verify the developer or seller shows SHORTTV LIMITED or SHORTMAX LIMITED.
2. Verify that the install count on Google Play sits at 100M+.
3. To see current weekly pass prices in your country, read the in-app purchase list.
4. Note that passes renew automatically until you cancel in your store settings.
5. However similar the title, skip any app whose developer name matches none of the above.