Snapchat Getting ‘Shark Week,’ Other Original Short-Form Series From Discovery
Great white sharks are swimming into Snapchat’s media menu.
Under a deal between Discovery Communications and Snap Inc., the companies will together develop short-form shows exclusively for Snapchat’s Discover platform. The pact covers new series created specifically for the app platform, as well as shows based on the cable programmer’s flagship non-fiction properties including “Shark Week” and “MythBusters.”
It’s the fifth such deal Snap has announced in the two weeks since the company official filed to go public, which it expects will value it at up to $22 billion. In part that’s because post-IPO, Snap will be subject to the SEC’s quiet-period rules forbidding it from issuing promotional news. (Snap is set to launch the IPO on March 1, Business Insider reported.)
The string of media deals — with A+E Networks, BBC Worldwide, the New York Times and Time Inc. — also is supposed to show Snap’s momentum in this area to investors as well as the entertainment biz.
The Discovery shows for Snapchat will be available only in the U.S., and will launch sometime in the next few months. The companies said they’ll also collaborate on pitching the mobile messaging and media app’s advertising capabilities to Discovery’s clients.
Like other media companies, Discovery wants to promote its current TV shows to Snapchat’s hard-to-reach millennial audience, as well as generate revenue from brand-new content. “There are few other platforms as dynamic and engaging, especially among younger audiences,” said Paul Guyardo, Discovery’s chief commercial officer.Last week NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” last week premiered its first original segment on Snapchat. Other shows produced for Snapchat have included offshoots for ABC’s “The Bachelor,” NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “The Voice,” as well as E!’s “The Rundown” and ESPN’s “Game Day.” Snap says it’s working with ABC, NBC, Turner and others to develop additional shows.
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