The New York Times is the latest media company to fully embrace Snapchat, the rising social media app owned by Snap.
The Times has revealed that its publication is now available through Snapchat Discover, an ad-supported channel through which publishers can push content out to Snapchat’s millions of users. From Monday through Friday, the Times will create a daily edition for Snapchat users in the U.S. and Canada that is based on its Morning Briefing.
“We’re seeing enormous interest on the part of younger audiences for the sort of smart, visual digital journalism for which The Times has become known,” said Kinsey Wilson, executive vice president of product and technology at the New York Times. “And Snapchat is an ideal place to reach that audience. At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure our journalism reaches the widest possible audience and that we continue the rapid growth we’ve seen in our base of loyal subscribers — growth that comes in large part from reaching new audiences on other platforms.”
Discover first launched back in January 2015 as a tab within the main Snapchat app that gives users access to long-form articles and videos curated by Snapchat’s editorial team. And in June last year, Discover was given a makeover, with users now able to subscribe to individual publishers, such as BuzzFeed and the Wall Street Journal.
Having the New York Times on board is particularly notable for Snap as it gears up for what many predict could be the biggest U.S. tech IPO since Facebook, with some estimates pegging its value at $25 billion. And for the Times, embracing Discover gives it a direct pipeline to around 150 million daily Snapchat users, a substantial number of them younger people. In fact, data suggests that Snapchat reaches more than 40 percent of all 18-34 year-olds in the U.S. each day.
Ads in Discover are displayed to users between articles and videos, and revenue is shared with the publisher accordingly. The exact amount depends on whether Snapchat or the publisher sold the ads. Snap is reportedly considering a change to its advertising model, with recent hints that rather than sharing ad revenue, it will pay publishers up front and then keep whatever it earns from the advertisement itself. A study from emarketer indicates that nearly half of Snap’s revenue in 2016 came from Discover ads.
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