Snapchat Shutters Original Content Channel, Lays Off Team

Snapchat is laying off members of a team assigned to a channel on its Discover platform devoted to original programming, dubbed Snap Channel.

The closure has prompted the exit of Marcus Wiley, a former executive with broadcast network Fox who was brought on to figure out how Snapchat would build up its programming lineup. Since his hire in May, Wiley led a group of 15 that has been disbanded, with some being pink-slipped and others being reassigned elsewhere in the company.

Until its removal from Discover a few weeks ago, Snap was the home of short-form content produced internally at Snapchat since launching in January. The channel was once home to “Literally Can’t Even,” a split-screen comedy series starring and written by Sasha Spielberg, daughter of Steven Spielberg, and Emily Goldwyn, daughter of John Goldwyn.

There are still plenty of content partners left on the Discover platform attracting ad dollars, including ESPN, Comedy Central, Vice and Cosmopolitan. In addition to Snap Channel, Snapchat has also parted with some of the partners Discover launched with, including Yahoo and Warner Music.

Time will tell whether Snap Channel will represent Snapchat’s final foray into original programming targeting the platform’s massive base of millennial users, but the company continues its efforts to program to the base with Live Stories, which curates its users’ snaps into coverage of major events and places around the world.

News was first reported by Deadline.

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