When social media use increased over time, it was treated as the second screen where people posted what they were watching on TV. Fast forwarding to the present day, that order has changed where people spend a significant amount of time on social networks and it has become their primary screen. Traditional media have realized this and have put in strategies to engage this audience and it has led them to partner with these social networks.
Snapchat is a video watching juggernaut where it has been reported users watch a collective 10 billion views every month, which is higher than the latest Facebook numbers which is pegged at 8 billion. According to Bloomberg, Snapchat made a deal with NBC to show highlights of the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics.
Apparently Snapchat will create daily live stories from content served from NBC while BuzzFeed will do the curation which involves behind the scenes content on a Discover channel. “Snapchat effectively reaches a very important demographic in the United States,” Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics was quoted, “and it is very important to our efforts to assemble the large, massive audience that will show up to watch the Olympic Games.”
“It’s as much about what’s going on the field as what’s going on in the Olympic village and Rio and really feeling like you’re there, seeing it through the fans eyes and the athletes’ eyes,” Snapchat’s director of partnerships was quoted by the publication.
This deal by Snapchat and NBC will remind you of the deal Twitter broke with the NFL where they will air some of the football matches live during the week. This is a new trend being experienced in this industry and it will lead to a future where we will be watching television almost exclusively from social networks.