Disney is making mini TV series for Snapchat
As Snapchat (or, if you want to be technical, Snap Inc) gets ready for its upcoming IPO, the company has been expanding its scope. No longer just an ephemeral messaging app, Snapchat has grown into a content platform with articles and videos. It’s lately been taking on original TV-like content as well, with an NBC deal to air a The Voice-like show within the app. That library of media is growing, and now a new partner has joined the fray. According to Reuters, Disney’s television arm will create shows for Snapchat, starting with a The Bachelor recap series.
The Snapchat series, titled Watch Party: The Bachelor, will kick off on Jan. 3rd, 2017, a day after the new season airs, according to Reuters. Each episode will be between three to five minutes long, and will be available to view for 24 hours after going live, according to Variety.
This isn’t the first collaboration between the two companies. Disney’s subsidiary ABC had previously teamed up with the app to curate Live Stories around its broadcast of the Academy Awards this February. But the deal to come up with original content for Snapchat could give the app more ways to engage its users and therefore generate more advertising revenue.
In addition to broadening its software offerings, Snap Inc also unveiled its first hardware product this year in the form of $130 video-recording sunglasses called Spectacles. It’s clear the millennial-friendly company has pretty big plans for expansion in the future, and its multi-billion-dollar valuation shows that industry analysts have high hopes for it, too.
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