Snap Inc has just made a major move to compete with Netflix and Amazon.
The social media titan has partnered with NBCUniversal to create a digital content studio that makes original shows to debut on its Snapchat platform.
NBCUniversal, which already owns a stake in Snap, said it wanted to take mobile TV programs “to the next level.”
“As mobile audiences continue to grow, we’re excited to expand the type of content we can develop,” NBCUniversal’s Lauren Anderson said in an announcement Tuesday.
NBCUniversal has appointed Anderson to head up the project as chief content officer. The executive, who previously served as the broadcaster’s senior vice president of primetime programming, developed and oversaw shows such as ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘The Office.’
She added: “By combining the best-in-class creative expertise of NBCUniversal with the broad digital reach of Snapchat, we have the unique ability to take mobile programming to the next level, creating compelling shows for both viewers and advertisers.”
Donut Studios Co-Founders Mark and Jay Duplass are also set to join the venture. The two brothers are the brains behind HBO’s ‘Togetherness’ and Netflix film ‘Blue Jay.’
“For us, shooting in that vertical mobile format is a terrifying and thrilling creative challenge,” Mark Duplass said.
Tough year for Snap
Snap’s stock price has had a rough year.
After debuting on the New York Stock Exchange in early 2017, the Snapchat parent firm been faced with both disappointing earnings results and a decline in users.
Since March, the stock has gone from an all-time high of $29.44 to as low as $13.10 in July. Shares of the Snap were trading at $16.07 at the closing bell Monday, down 2.61 percent.
NBCUniversal was a participant in Snap’s initial public offering (IPO), investing $500 million in the U.S.-based start-up.
Last September, Snap launched an initiative called ‘Shows’ for its Discover platform, to release mobile TV-like content on Snapchat. The U.S. broadcaster was Snap’s first partner for the programming.
Sean Mills, head of original content for Snap, said the company was “thrilled” with the closer collaboration with NBCUniversal, and said they had been “amazing collaborators from the start.”
Its latest move signals entry into a market currently dominated by firms such as Netflix and Amazon, both of which produce original TV content.
And a Facebook TV platform is on the horizon, as it was revealed last month the Silicon Valley giant could spend as much as $1 billion on original TV content.
Source: CNBC
