May 3, 2018 - Technology

NowThis to launch breaking news channel on Snapchat

Photo: NowThis

NowThis, the millennial social video media outlet that's part of Group Nine Media, will announce today the launch of NowBreaking, a breaking news channel produced exclusively for Snapchat Discover.

Why it matters: It will be the first real-time breaking news channel launched on Snapchat Discover exclusively built for global breaking news updates — not general or feature news stories.

  • The NowBreaking channel will launch in June. It will be a completely separate entity from NowThis' existing Snapchat Discover channel, which features general news. NowThis also creates similar breaking news videos on other social platforms, like Facebook and YouTube.
  • It will cover breaking news events with significant national or international impact, leveraging feeds from Snapchat's Snap Maps feature — as well as other local content partnerships — to bring audiences video of breaking events as they unfold in real-time or near real-time.
The way were thinking about it now is we will publish as news as it breaks. We'll go up with breaking news stories five, 10, 15 minutes from the when the story breaks. We will add to those stories as they develop throughout the day. It could be updated five times per day, or it could be updated zero times per day. It all depends on the news cycle.
— Tina Exarhos, Chief Content Officer, NowThis

Snapchat has been investing in breaking news from an "on the ground" perspective for some time. It has been working with local news outlets to incorporate video feeds from breaking events around the world into their coverage.

  • For Snap, NowThis is a good partner to test a breaking news feature thanks to its proven ability to quickly produce videos that resonate with young audiences.
  • "NowThis has proven to be a source for the latest headlines, and we're thrilled they will expand their offerings to bring breaking news coverage to our community in real time," says Vanessa Guthrie, partner lead for Snapchat Shows.

The big picture: Snapchat's recent redesign, which the company blames for slowed user growth last quarter, has affected every publisher on Snapchat Discover differently. Some new adjustments, like placing subscriptions to certain Discover channels right underneath friends' stories, could help boost traffic for Discover publishing partners.

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