Forget about Instagram copying Snapchat Stories, because Snapchat is about to have another feature totally unique from other messaging apps: its own mini TV shows.
NBCUniversal announced on Monday, Aug. 8, its plans to launch versions of its popular TV shows like The Voice, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and SNL on Snapchat.
Instead of being just highlight clips from series that are broadcasted on NBCUniversal-owned networks, the Snapchat shows will feature brand new content that is produced just for the app, while targeting the app's main demographics who are a mobile-first audience.
"We're thrilled to be partnering with NBCUniversal to bring Snapchatters a marquee video experience featuring some of entertainment's most respected and widely watched brands," Nick Bell, vice president of Content at Snapchat, said in a statement. "Together with NBCUniversal, we believe there is a huge creative and commercial opportunity around mobile-first programming and are excited to bring these future formats to our community."
It makes sense that the series include original content since content originally filmed horizontally does not work vertically on the messaging platform. Plus, this brings a new way NBCUniversal can provide fresh content from the series fans love in a place where many people check it out as part of their daily routine.
The media company, which owns NBC and cable channels like E! and USA, will kick things off with the launch of The Voice on Snapchat. The series will air on Snapchat on Aug. 22 and will include five episodes. Snapchat users are encouraged to record a snap of themselves singing for the coaches, which include Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys this season, for a chance to be featured on the season premiere of the singing competition series on Sept. 19.
On Sept. 8, E! News will launch The Rundown, an exclusive weekly pop culture series for Snapchat.
Then again, Ron Lamprecht, executive vice president of business development and digital distribution at NBCUniversal, revealed that, if the content works for other places (maybe like for YouTube or Facebook), the new content developed for Snapchat could be shared elsewhere.
NBCUniversal will develop and sell ads for each of its new Snapchat series, and these mini shows will be made available to Snapchat users through its Discover feature. This means NBCUniversal is joining other companies like ESPN and CNN to bring videos to Snapchat Discover, although this marks the first time Snapchat is featuring TV series.
This new deal is the second partnership NBCUniversal has had with Snapchat. It previously announced its plans to team up with the popular social media app and BuzzFeed to bring highlights from the 2016 Summer Olympic Games that are currently being held in Rio de Janeiro.
