Under the deal, Viacom will have the right to sell against its own content on Snapchat as well as Snapchat s USA owned and operated advertising inventory, a Snapchat spokesman told Reuters. That includes ads in Snapchat’s unpartnered “Live Stories”, which curate submitted posts from users in specific locations or during holidays. Domestic advertising revenue saw a 4% drop and internationally, ad revenue fell 2% because of the effect of foreign exchange, the company said.
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The company has been under increased scrutiny in recent months, as cable TV appears to be on the way out due to the rising popularity of online streaming subscriptions. Snapchat also gets access to create content around Viacom’s tent pole events, branded as Snapchat Live Stories. According to the Journal report, Viacom will add two new channels to the section.
Previously Viacom had a ad and content deal around that included both Comedy Central and MTV content on the Snapchat “Discover” page.
Snapchat has a revenue-sharing agreement with Viacom for the ads it sells.
Viacom’s financials have been hit by ratings declines and related ad drops, with analysts saying the company’s younger target audience is harder to reach in the digital age. Snapchat is a mobile app where photos, videos and messages disappear in seconds, the Journal said.
“We identified early on the similarities in our audience with Snapchat as they were starting out”.
“Viacom and Snapchat naturally complement each other in significant ways that make us ideal partners in both content and business development”, said Viacom CFO Wade Davis in announcing the deal.
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As a testimony to its growing popularity among millennials, the White House joined Snapchat on January 11. “The new global channel will serve Snapchat users daily doses of comedy, from curated ‘WTF News” articles and exclusive videos with their favorite comedians to upcoming original series set to debut on Snapchat Discover in the coming year.
