Technology

Snapchat launches shows in the UK

Published

6 years ago

October 30, 2018

Shona Ghosh

UK Snap
Shows
Snap

Snapchat wants British users to watch TV-like shows
inside its app.
It’s partnered with 17 UK media brands, such as The
Guardian and Sky News, to create short, original shows which
will last between three and seven minutes.
The goal for Snap is to gobble up more TV
advertising.
Snap will share revenue from the ads which run in the
shows with its publishing partners.

Snap has massively stepped up its ambitions to become the future
of TV, partnering 17 British media brands to bring original shows
to UK Snapchat users.

Broadcasters and media organisations including Channel 4, Vice,
and Sky News are among the partners who will bring short, TV-like
episodes to Snapchat. You can see the full list of media brands
below.

The idea is to bring snappy series to the Snapchat app and its
youthful user base, with each show lasting between three and
seven minutes. Snapchat users will swipe right from the main
camera to access shows, which will be housed in the “Discover”
area of the app.

There’s a big variety of shows on offer, ranging from vloggers
doing silly things to serious news, to a series showcasing food
from around the world.

The UK announcement is a little different from
Snap’s original shows offering in the US, which involves a
much closer collaboration with content partners and content that
wouldn’t appear on any other platform.

While there are some UK shows that are brand new, such as a new
series from travel publisher the Culture Trip, Snap isn’t billing
these as original content created only for Snapchat.

Remi Saad, head of international content partnerships at
Snap, said Snapchat users were increasingly watching content
produced by publishing partners, saying the amount of time users
spend watching shows had tripled since the beginning of 2018.

According to the company, the 21 shows already available in
Discover from US creators attract 10 million monthly active
viewers globally.

The aim for Snap is to take advertising revenue from TV. The
company is touting its “Commercials” ad format, six-second
non-skippable video ads that slot into shows. Forced ads are
a major
deviation from the norm for Snapchat, which has built its
brand on skippable content.

But no doubt forcing users to watch ads will make Snapchat a more
enticing platform for both advertisers and media brands, which
will be relying on revenue generated from ads in order to fund
their shows. Saad confirmed Snap would share ad revenue with its
partners, but didn’t discuss the split.

Unlike rivals like Facebook, Snap won’t be funding its partners’
shows. Saad told Business Insider: “We see the investment
strategy around shows is about bringing amazing content that
people love into Snapchat too. We have seen great success with
launching shows in the US… The format has proven it’ll bring
some great engagement.”

Saad said advertisers who run a campaign for 30 days on Snapchat
could reach around 5 million unique users.

Here are the 17 new Show partners: