Snapchat's new TV-style 'Shows' are drawing audiences of over 8 million people, according to CEO Evan Spiegel
Snapchat's "Shows" are meant to be TV-quality videos that media partners like NBC and ESPN create for Snapchat, as opposed to videos repurposed from TV or other mobile platforms.
These shows live in the "Stories" section of Snapchat, under the "Shows" header. Spiegel said Snapchat is getting about one of these per day right now, but that this will grow through the end of the year. Snap wants about 2-3 shows to go up on the app each day, by the end of 2017, Snap previously confirmed to Business Insider.
A big piece of Snap's pitch to IPO investors in March was that Snapchat would be the place where TV advertising dollars would land, as they shifted to the digital realm. These "Shows" could be important for that goal, though Snapchat will be competing for consumers' viewing time with Facebook, YouTube, Amazon and Hulu, all of which are investing money in original content as well.
A recent report from The Wall Street Journal's Shalini Ramachandran shed some light on what form those shows will take. Here are some of the details:
- These shows will be about 3-5 minutes long. That's important because Snap isn't paying money up front for them, but instead relying solely on an ad revenue split, Snap confirmed to Business Insider. The Journal reported that Snap is giving a 50-50 ad revenue split, which is lower than some partners are getting in its Discover section (Snap declined to comment on that figure).
- Snap has been involved in the development of the shows, according to the Journal, which reported that Snap gave out "extensive and detailed notes" to TV partners. A Snap spokesperson told Business Insider that these kinds of notes were focused on how to make content work on the Snapchat platform, from more of a form-factor perspective than a creative one.
- So what will these shows be about? Snapchat is looking for all kinds of shows, from reality to scripted, from news to horror. Snap has shows in the works from NBC, ESPN, the NFL, Turner, ABC, BBC, A&E, Discovery, Vice, and others, the company told Business Insider.