Snap & Time Warner to Create 10 Original 5 Minute Shows a Year

Thanks to a $100 million deal, you could be seeing more original shows on your Snapchat soon.

Already, Snap has been producing super short shows in order to compete with social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook who have also been attempting to create their own content. While musical.ly has so far had the biggest success in this area, this deal with Time Warner is certainly promising for the beleaguered platform.

Time Warner owns properties such as HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros — some of the biggest names in television media — which will run ads throughout the original shows. A report also teased that Snap users could be seeing celebrities like Samantha Bee and Ellen DeGeneres on these shows in addition to Warner Bros characters like Wonder Woman.

Time Warner executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications, Gary Ginsberg, spoke about the company's goals for this deal:

Partnering with Snap will help drive this compelling new format, exposing its user base to innovative and engaging video from brands and characters they trust and enjoy.

— Gary Ginsberg, Time Warner Marketing EVP

Although platforms like HBO are typically associated with dark and gritty names like 'Game of Thrones', the companies are aiming to make shows that appeal to younger viewers. Since millennials are the primary users of Snapchat, they are preparing to make content that will cater to them.

The deal is planned to span over 2 years with up to 10 original shows a year along with ads. Snapchat is reportedly making around 50% of the revenue, and the deal has already boosted Snap's stocks. But it isn't the only major media deal that Snap has made.

As of now, Snap only produces one 3-5 minute show a day. However, huge companies such as ABC, BBC, and NBCUniversal have been clamoring to partner with Snapchat to create original content. This is because the majority of Snap's 160 million plus users are millennials, as noted, which are who the big media companies are dying to target.

With Time Warner, Snapchat's shows will be 3-5 minutes long and will be scripted comedies as well as dramas. The partnership aims to up their daily show production from one to three by the end of the year.

While we don't think that Snap will be giving Netflix a run for its money anytime soon, the deals they have been striking might be how they get ahead of their competitor Instagram. Facebook's Instagram's original shows have not quite taken off yet, but Snapchat's deals with major companies like Time Warner could attract audiences because of familiar names, characters, and networks.