Snap, parent company of Snapchat, is doubling down on localized content in the U.K. The company announced Tuesday that it has partnered with 17 British brands — including Sky News and The Guardian — to launch over 20 short-form (5-7 minute) shows that will live in its Discover Section.
The new content, however, is not considered part of Snapchat Originals, which Snap has greater creative control over and debut exclusively on Discover. To that end, the company will not be co-funding these U.K.-native shows.
Instead, it is looking to fill the content with 6-second unskippable ads — also known as Commercials — and split the revenue made from the advertisements with its parters, though the company did not mention the proposed split.
With the launch of the new content, Snap is also hoping to increase the growth of its Discover section in terms of time spent on the platform, which has more than tripled since the beginning of the year, with 21 unique Shows in Discover reaching a monthly active audience of over 10 million viewers globally in Q3.
The full list of U.K. companies partnering with Snap include: Sky News, Sky Sports, VICE, Gleam, Futures, The Guardian, Culture Trip, Hearst/Cosmopolitan, UK Tastemade, COPA90, Channel 4, Global, Boiler Room, GRM Daily, JOE.co.uk, Brave Bison, PinkNews and Manchester City.
“We are delighted to be expanding the range of premium content on our platform and welcoming more of the media brands Snapchatters in the U.K. and beyond know and love,” said Rami Saad, head of International Content Partnerships at Snap. “Our priority is to provide Snapchatters with a personalized experience that features a diverse mix of credible, local voices alongside some of the best content creators from around the world. We are also excited to help our partners build their brand with a highly engaged, global audience.”
The announcement comes on the heels of Snapchat’s Q3 earning results, which ended with the company losing a total of 2 million daily active users despite posting its best sales quarter ever. It was the second straight quarter of declining daily user growth for the company, which attracts 186 million daily users across the globe.