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Snapchat has secured the rights to stream six exclusive mini episodes of hugely popular BBC nature documentary series Planet Earth II (via The Verge).
The short run of mobile episodes is due to start on February 17, one day before the full series is scheduled to begin broadcast on BBC America.
The 4-6 minute episodes accessible to Snapchat users will consist of content shown on the BBC in late 2016 – Islands, Mountains, Jungles, Deserts, Grasslands, and Cities – but will also feature exclusive content not seen before on TV.
However, the episodes won't include presentation and commentary from Sir David Attenborough, with actress Sophie Okonedo the narrator instead. Snap says the episodes will also feature binaural (3D) audio. The episodes will appear weekly in the Discover section of the app alongside the regular daily content created by other publishers. Users interested in the episodes can subscribe using the app's QR-style Snap codes.
The announcement indicates Snapchat's continuing attempt to kickstart growth of its user base, which is currently at 158 million daily active users but has slowed significantly in recent months. Snap recorded $514.6 million in losses last year and faces stiff competition from Instagram, which continues to successfully ape its features. In addition to its push into original content with mobile versions of shows like The Voice, Snap filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange last week, hoping to raise $3 billion from investors.
Snapchat is a free download for iPhone available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Top Rated Comments
Snapchat is a big teenage thing. Is Planet Earth really going to capture the heart of a 13 year old?
I used to be fascinated watching Attenborough's wildlife documentaries when I was a kid, and I know many who do. But I agree, on the part that it seems like the completely wrong medium for distributing a documentary. Who on earth would want to watch mini-episodes of Planet Earth (or anything else) on Snapchat?. The fact that David Attenborough's not narrating the mini-episodes just makes it worse - his narration is an integral part of Planet Earth itself.Anyway, that was slightly irrelevant. Personally I don't think Snapchats content plan won't help growth.
Let's take a cinematic journey through our world on a 4" phone screen.