Snapchat launched Discover today, an ad supported addition of news and entertainment to the popular messaging app. CNN, ESPN, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Fusion are just a few of the first outlets to launch with the update.
CNN will put out a new “edition” every 24 hours, including news, headlines, and a ten second Snap, or video, for each story. Comedy Central is using the platform to share teasers and links to full videos of shows. ESPN has “Sportscenter” highlights with “heavily designed stats from major leagues.”
If I could watch ten second clips of “Broad City” while perusing Instagram, I don’t think I’d ever look up again.
Just don’t call it “social media.” According to Snapchat, the feature is:
the result of collaboration with world-class leaders in media to build a storytelling format that puts the narrative first. This is not social media. Social media companies tell us what to read based on what’s most recent or most popular. We see it differently. We count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important.
For news orgs like Vice and Fusion, it’s a great way to expand your audience. For television networks, it’s an effective outlet to preview and market new content and repurpose the old. No one has to leave the Snapchat world to share a funny video or a Super Bowl highlight.
The feature is ad supported by BMW so expect a lot of glossy car commercials, or what Snapchat calls “gorgeous advertising.” Instead of shunning advertising, Snapchat’s clued into the fact that millennials don’t mind being targeted, as long as it looks good.