Digital media network Little Dot Studios (an All3Media company) and History Hit, the SVOD and content platform co-founded by historian Dan Snow, have signed an exclusive cross-platform, multi-year content deal with WWII veteran interviewer and documentary maker, Rishi Sharma.
Rishi Sharma, interviewer and documentary filmmaker:
“WWII veterans are not just personal heroes; they are heroes for us all. Their incredible courage, unwavering tenacity, and immense sacrifices paved the way for the comfortable lives we enjoy today, often taken for granted. I am hugely grateful to Little Dot Studios and History Hit who are supporting my journey to capture the stories of every single living WWII veteran on camera, creating the world’s largest archive of eyewitness accounts.
“These first hand testimonies from WWII combat veterans are invaluable treasures that should be shared with the world in perpetuity. I’ve dedicated a substantial part of my life to ensuring that these interviews are recorded for posterity, ensuring that their sacrifices all those years ago were not in vain and that future generations will never forget the true price of our hard-fought freedoms.”
Having produced an archive of over 2,000 video and audio interviews with WWII vets from all corners of the globe so far, Rishi Sharma owns the largest, unexplored personal archive of first hand interviews from those that fought on the frontline. Each in-depth interview lasts between 2-4 hours and have been captured by Rishi over the past 8 years with the ambition to document and preserve as many personal accounts as possible.
With the average age of a surviving US WWII veteran now 99, and even older in Europe, the partnership with Little Dot Studios and History Hit will enable Rishi to continue his efforts and complete more interviews before any more experiences are lost for good.
As well as an upfront investment to fund further filming, the deal will also see Little Dot Studios take on channel management and publishing of Rishi’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok channels. Additionally, Little Dot Studios and History Hit will acquire exclusive FAST, broadcast and AVOD/SVOD rights to Rishi’s full library which will be available via Little Dot Studios’ owned and operated media network (including the Timeline, War Stories, Real History and The American Story channels) and FAST output as well as History Hit’s SVOD and Podcast network.
History Hit has also commissioned a 0ne-off documentary following Rishi across the US as he continues to meet more veterans, which will premiere on the platform ahead of Veterans Day / Remembrance Day on the 11th of November.
2024-25 will mark 80 years since numerous key events that brought the war to a close took place. From Iwo Jima to D-Day, through to the liberation of Paris and VJ Day, Rishi’s detailed interviews offer unparalleled access to the survivors who fought those battles. With the vast majority of these interviews never having been seen, nor heard, by an audience before, this deal will allow for these very personal and important stories to travel and reach millions of viewers worldwide.
To make a donation enabling Rishi Sharma to continue interviewing WWII veterans, head to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Rememberww2.
