Time Warner said to invest $100 million in Snapchat shows
NEW YORK: Time Warner will invest $100 million (R1.3 billion) in producing TV-like shows and advertising on Snapchat over the next two years, in a push by the media giant to reach young audiences, according to an individual who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The deal will see Time Warner make shows for Snapchat in a range of genres, including scripted dramas, comedies and documentaries, according to a statement from both companies.
Time Warner’s properties like HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. will also invest in advertising on Snapchat.
The partnership will help boost the number of shows on Snapchat, which are three- to five-minutes long, to three a day from one.
Eventually, New Yorkbased Time Warner will make as many as 10 shows a year.
Warner Bros. will likely market its upcoming movies on Snapchat as part of the deal and revenue from ads sold during the Time Warner shows will be split evenly with Snapchat, the person said.
For Time Warner, the agreement with Snapchat will drive larger audiences to its shows and to new direct-to-consumer online services it introduces, Gary Ginsberg, a Time Warner spokesman, said.
The shows will be produced specifically for Snap- chat’s vertical format – or how people would watch on their phones.
Snapchat, the app that people use to send disappearing photos, already has several deals with networks and studios to showcase their content in the form of mobile magazines and shows.
For Snapchat, the content is intended to get users to spend more time on the app, while media companies are looking for access to a young audience, which is harder to find on television these days.
The deal comes as Time Warner awaits approval by AT&T, whose chief executive Randall Stephenson has said the future of video will be on mobile devices. – Bloomberg.