Snap Inc. will release a dozen original series on its mobile app, betting that a new entertainment lineup can maintain its grip on teenage users and provide an edge over Facebook's Instagram.
The programming slate marks Snap's biggest push into funding and producing its own content. The idea is to keep users on the Snapchat app for longer periods of time and sell advertising to companies looking to reach a youthful audience.
The rollout includes "Endless Summer," a docuseries about social-media influencers, and "Class of Lies," a scripted show about college roommates coping with the disappearance of their best friend.
The move builds on Snap's first foray into original programming in 2016, when it launched "Good Luck America." That show, hosted by former CNN correspondent Peter Hamby, explored politics ahead of the presidential election.
Since then, Snap has released more than 60 original series through partnerships with other media companies. Comcast Corporation's NBC produces the daily news show "Stay Tuned," while ESPN has a daily edition of its highlights program "SportsCenter." The ESPN show attracts more than 2 million viewers a day and 17 million viewers a month.
Original programming "has been a huge success for us," said Sean Mills, the Snap executive who oversees the project.
Still, the company faces an evermore crowded marketplace for TV shows. In addition to competition from Instagram, Snap is facing a fresh threat from Facebook's new Stories format.
But Snapchat still has a lock on teen users, and the company hopes to capitalize on that advantage with the new programming. The content is tailor-made for mobile phones. Shows will run from three to five minutes.
Not surprisingly, Snap's programming lineup focuses on the travails of young adults. A scripted show called "Co-Ed" centers on college roommates "juggling classes, parties and down-the-hall crushes." The documentary series "Vivian," meanwhile, is about the youngest model scout at the Wilhelmina agency.
The company's approach has been guided by how its users post content to the Snapchat app, Mills said.
"We were driven by this idea that mobile is a new medium," he said. "How users tell stories informed how we would try to tell stories."
