ESPN is creating a new, shorter version of its flagship sports highlight show exclusively for Snapchat.
ESPN will produce a daily version of SportsCenter exclusively for Snapchat
Katie Nolan will host the show multiple times per week, along with other ESPN talent.
Matthew Stockman / Getty
The new version of SportsCenter will run twice daily inside Snapchat’s Discover section, and will feature ESPN personalities, including former Fox Sports host Katie Nolan. Each episode will run three to five minutes and will be filmed exclusively for Snapchat.
As part of the new show arrangement, ESPN will retire its daily edition, the magazine-like channels that publishers use to share individual stories and videos to Snapchat’s audience. Snapchat and ESPN will split advertising revenue sold alongside the new mini versions of SportsCenter, and ESPN will sell all of the ad inventory, according to two sources familiar with the agreement.
The deal is good for two years.
SportsCenter is the latest in a slate of daily news shows that Snapchat now publishes inside its app. NBC was the first to create a twice-daily show; CNN has also abandoned its magazine-like edition to create a daily news show.
Snapchat sees the shows as a way to drive more people to its app more often. More people spending more time inside Snapchat means more advertising revenue.
“Our shows or our publisher stories or our Our Stories, these are the kinds of things that get a real core, loyal audience and build a [consistent] habit in viewership there,” said Sean Mills, head of original content at Snapchat. “That’s the most important thing to us.”
Despite the TV-like qualities, though, Snapchat claims it is not trying to be television. Similar to how Twitter and Facebook have argued for years that their products don’t compete with the media companies who use them to spread their content, Snapchat is preaching a similar message.
“We’re not trying to replace TV or become a new TV in any way,” Mills added. “Television companies are our partners. Mobile video ... we believe it’s an entirely new medium.”
The show debuted Monday and will run at 5 am ET and 5 pm ET every weekday. It will run once per day over the weekends.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
