Snapchat is bringing two more media partners — Entertainment Weekly and Essence — to its Discover service under an expanded deal with Time Inc.
EW and Essence join Time Inc.’s People, which was one of the channels on Snapchat Discover when it launched two years ago. The agreement covers only the U.S.; the two new publications will launch on the Snapchat app “in the coming weeks,” according to Time Inc.
Snap’s other editorial partners for Snapchat in the U.S. include the New York Times (which hasn’t yet launched), BuzzFeed, CNN, Comedy Central, Mashable, Refinery29, Tastemade, The Economist, MTV, Complex, Vogue, Mitu, the Wall Street Journal, Now This News, the Daily Mail, Brother, Cosmo, Bleacher Report, Sweet and the Food Network.
Snap officially filed for an IPO to raise up to $3 billion last week, revealing among other things that it paid content partners $57.8 million under ad-revenue sharing agreements (up from $9.6 million in 2015). Of its 2016 ad revenue, 91% was inventory Snap sold directly.
Entertainment Weekly’s Snapchat Discover channel will include coverage of TV, movies and music along with some of EW’s weekly features like the “Must List” and “Bullseye.” Essence’s weekly edition will address topics spanning entertainment, lifestyle and politics from the perspective of African-American women.
Time Inc. is hoping to expand its exposure to Snapchat’s users, the majority of which are 18-34 years old, according to Snap. The company says Snapchat had 158 million daily unique users in the fourth quarter of 2016. In December, 43% of the app’s total DAUs were in North America (69 million out of 161 million worldwide).
The deal was led from the Time Inc. side by Will Lee, digital director of the company’s celebrity, entertainment and sports groups, and by Nick Bell, Snap’s VP of content.
