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MGM Television is making a further push into the multiplatform and digital space, closing a deal with Snap to develop Shows — TV-like mobile video content — for Snapchat’s Discover platform. This marks Snap’s first deal with a major entertainment studio and adds to the deals it already has in place with several leading TV networks to develop and produce premium content for its platform.
Snapchat Shows are original stand-alone programming from some of the world’s best storytellers, produced and shot vertically for mobile. Each Show tells a complete narrative in four or five minutes. Shows are shot with the Snapchat audience in mind, giving it a unique and energetic feel. Shows include concepts that are both new IP, as well as existing IP that is reimagined for a new audience. Shows are being developed for a wide range of formats, including documentaries, reality TV, scripted and unscripted, comedies and dramas.
The deal with Snap comes on the heels of MGM TV’s co-production pact with Jukin Media to produce new competition-format programs utilizing user-generated video content for network, cable and premium SVOD. In addition, MGM Television also will begin production on Beat Shazam, a music competition series launching on Fox, hosted by Jamie Foxx.
In recent months, Snap has announced deals with NBC, ESPN, the NFL, Turner, ABC, the BBC and A+E Networks and Discovery Networks, which either already are producing Shows for Snapchat or are already developing Shows to debut on Snapchat in the coming months. Shows that have aired or are currently airing on the platform include (from NBC) The Voice Seasons 1 and 2, E!’s The Rundown, Fallon and Saturday Night Live; (from ESPN) College Game Day; (from the NFL) The NFL Show; (from ABC) Watch Party: The Bachelor; (from BBC) and Planet Earth II.
“The team at Snap is thinking about mobile TV differently than anyone else in this space,” said Barry Poznick, President of Unscripted Television MGM. “They are innovators, and it presents us with a unique opportunity to flex our development and production muscle in a whole new way. We are excited to create content for their vast and hard to reach audience that consumes entertainment in a very specific fashion.”
Said Nick Bell, VP Content for Snap Inc.: “MGM has an incredible pool of talent — from producers and directors to writers — that we’re excited to tap into as we join forces to develop Shows. Partnering with a studio of their caliber opens up a lot of possibilities for the future of Shows on Snapchat.”