Kevin Hart, Catherine Hardwicke, Anthony Anderson and Bunim/Murray Productions are among those who will create original scripted and unscripted shows exclusively for Snapchat’s mobile-first audience.
Snap Inc. has announced that Disney, ESPN, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS, the NBA and the NFL have expanded their commitments to deliver content for Snapchat’s Discover platform, its made-for-mobile video destination.
The multi-year deals include new Shows and Snap Originals, mobile shows created exclusively for Snapchat’s audience, along with continued production of existing original franchises such as ESPN’s SportsCenter on Snapchat, NBC News’ Stay Tuned, E! News’ The Rundown and MTV’s Teen Code. The deals also include continued delivery of up-to-the-minute highlights for key news, entertainment and sports moments. Discover is a closed, curated platform that works closely with a select set of partners to produce credible information and entertaining content in brand new ways for mobile.
In addition, Snap has introduced a dedicated news product called Happening Now, aimed to be the fastest way for Snapchatters to consume breaking news. Over 125m people watched news stories on Snapchat this year. Happening Now turns updates on the biggest stories across politics, entertainment, sports, and more into a new, easy to consume format customized for mobile. Snap has partnered with some of the most trusted news organizations, including The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC News, ESPN, NowThis, E! News, BuzzFeed News and more, and will include publicly submitted Snaps from the community. Happening Now also features personalized weather from Bitmoji in partnership with AccuWeather, and horoscopes from Sanctuary.
The company also announced a new slate of Snap Originals set to premiere over the next year that includes unscripted series, character-driven docuseries, and scripted dramas and comedies. Select shows will leverage Snap’s unique augmented reality technologies to deliver immersive shows that are only possible on Snapchat. Snap is partnering with some of the industry’s best creators to continue to transform mobile storytelling, including comedian and Laugh Out Loud founder/CEO Kevin Hart, writer and director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight and Thirteen), Emmy-nominated actor and producer Anthony Anderson (black-ish), reality television pioneers Bunim/Murray Productions, and more established production partners.
