Time Warner to develop and produce Shows for Snapchat

Monday, June 19th, 2017
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Time Warner and Snap Announce Wide-Ranging Global Media Partnership to Invest in Content and Ads

  • Deal Will Bring Shows from Iconic Time Warner Brands to Snapchatters

NEW YORK, NY — Today Time Warner Inc. and Snap Inc. are announcing a global partnership spanning media spending and the development of made-for-Snap Shows over the next two years. Under this new agreement, Time Warner will make a significant commitment to develop and produce Shows for Snapchat from across its networks and entertainment companies. These new Shows will encompass a range of genres, including scripted drama and comedy.

Showcasing Time Warner’s iconic brands and beloved personalities on Snapchat will increase exposure to its desirable, highly engaged and growing audience. In addition to programming, Time Warner will commit to investing in advertising from HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. on Snapchat over the next two years — affirming its confidence in Snap’s business model and power to reach a unique demographic coveted by advertisers and marketers.

“As a company that has driven the evolution of media, this is an exciting and natural move as we bring together some of our leading video properties and brands with Snapchat’s dynamic platform,” said Gary Ginsberg, Time Warner Inc. Executive Vice President Corporate Marketing and Communications. “Partnering with Snap will help drive this compelling new format, exposing its user base to innovative and engaging video from brands and characters they trust and enjoy. We’re confident this partnership will help drive larger audiences to our shows and to the new direct to consumer platforms we continue to rollout. ”

“Time Warner and their brands have long been pioneers of what incredible, premium content looks like, and we’re thrilled that innovators across their expansive network will begin producing Shows for Snapchat,” said Nick Bell, Vice President of Content for Snap Inc. “This partnership is another exciting step as we continue to branch out into new genres, including scripted dramas, comedies, daily news Shows, documentaries, and beyond.”

Since September, Snap has worked with leading networks and studios to bring premium mobile TV-like Shows to Snapchatters, including Time Warner’s Turner networks, NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, the NFL, BBC, Discovery Networks, Scripps Networks, MGM Television, A+E Networks, Vertical Networks and VICE. Shows are shot and produced exclusively for the platform’s vertical format, run 3-5 minutes in length, full-screen and immersive. They are hyper-visual, featuring motion graphics, split screens, quick cuts and more, inspired by the expressive communication Snapchatters use to talk to their closest friends.

The Time Warner partnership will help fuel a significant increase in the number of Shows on Snapchat. There is currently about one Show airing each day on Snapchat. By the end of this year, Snap expects to have three Shows airing per day, and will introduce a wide range of formats, including animation, documentaries, scripted drama, comedies, daily news Shows and a lot more.

Snap offers a number of innovative ways for companies to advertise on Snapchat, including by purchasing Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Geofilters. Snap Ads are vertical, full-screen, sound-on video ads that play for up to 10 seconds. Brands give Snapchatters the choice to swipe up to see more, like they do elsewhere on Snapchat, to reveal extended content like a long-form video, app install page or mobile website.