CNN will reportedly stop producing the daily show for the Snapchat app starting in the new year, both companies said Friday, Dec. 22.
Just four months ago, CNN launched the program on Snapchat's Discover page. Now, it is being pulled out. While the companies are keeping the reasons under wraps, they did come out in support of each other in a joint statement.
"Snap and CNN have built a great partnership over the years and our teams have enormous admiration for each other. We plan to keep working together and mutually decided to hit pause as we explore the best opportunities for doing that," the companies confirmed.
What Is The Update?
The news corporation is one of Snapchat's launch partners for its Discover content section and they actually began streaming on the social media app back in August.
The Update would feature at least five news stories in each episode from different reporters and bureaus around the world in hope of attracting a more youthful audience, which may not have worked as both companies are ceasing production Dec. 31.
Snapchat has been very careful about making sure its partners create original content for the Discover vertical. The outlook looked for its partners to deliver not only original content but also wanted said content to be built to best engage the young audience that gravitates toward Snapchat.
According to Axion, sources say that the cancellation is just part of a broader strategy conservation between Snapchat and CNN and that it will help both companies learn the best way to use the platform moving forward.
Does This Mean Other News Show Will Go?
Interestingly, the other news programs on Snapchat like Good Luck America and NBC's Stay Tuned seem to be faring well with viewers.
Unfortunately, publishers are at a point where they need to make choices about which digital platform to bet on and some entities are just far bigger than others. NBC's series is a perfect example, as the network said back in September that the show was averaging about 30 million monthly viewers and has some 30-staffers working on it.
"We launched this show to reach a new audience. And we've been successful in that endeavor, as is evidenced by the tens of millions of under-25 year olds that watch the show every month," Nick Ascheim, SVP of digital at NBC News Group said.
It's not all bad news as Snapchat and CNN will continue their partnership and find other means of making the social media app work in the news corps favor.
