(Courtesy of Turner)
On Wednesday, Turner and Snap, Inc. announced an expansion of its existing relationship, which now will include digital sports media company Bleacher Report receiving its own Snapchat Discover Channel in January.
The Channel, which will officially launch on Jan. 4, 2017, will include a mixture of videos, images, animations and other creative graphics across the world of sports; it will also join Turner’s existing CNN Discover Channel.
Other sports media companies and properties currently on Discover include ESPN, the NBA and NFL, which became the first professional sports league to have a dedicated channel prior to the 2016 season.
“This deal marks the latest strategic move for Turner to innovate within the digital arena and provide complementary viewing experiences for a younger, mobile-centric audience,” said David Levy, President of Turner in a statement. “Snapchat is a powerful outlet to directly connect with the millennial generation and perfectly aligns with our portfolio-wide strategy to engage with audiences at every touch point.”
With the expanded agreement, Turner will also continue to integrate Snapchat’s Live Stories into its over-arching social and digital strategy around the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and PGA Championship as it brings fans behind-the-scenes coverage.
“Millions of Snapchatters value the authoritative and credible reporting by CNN and Bleacher Report every day and we are excited about offering more frequent news updates and expanding Bleacher Report’s Discover coverage to the U.S.,” said Nick Bell, Vice President of Content for Snap in a statement. “We’re also thrilled to be building on two years of our Live Story coverage of March Madness with expanded sports content.”
