In an age when how we digest our media is constantly changing, adaptation is key in staying relevant. This is what has led NBC News to have a very good month in the ratings, but it has nothing to do with a television set. It looks like producing mobile content has become a pretty viable option now, and NBC News launched a brand new news show last month on the mobile app Snapchat. The short-form content has already proven to be a big hit and has garnered over 29 million viewers since the show first launched in July.
NBC News launched Stay Tuned, a three-minute news show on Snapchat, on July 19. Since then, the show has accumulated over 29 million different viewers. Stay Tuned is co-hosted by Savannah Sellers and Gadi Schwartz and runs two episodes a day on weekdays, one on weekends, and breaking news updates. Each show consists of four to five segments that cover a mix of national and international news, pop-culture, politics, and other topics. Stay Tuned is the first daily news show on Snapchat and giving these numbers, more are likely on the way.
It should come as no surprise that the majority of people tuning in are young people. According to Snapchat (via Variety), more than 60% of the Stay Tuned audience is under the age of 25. More than 40% of these viewers tune in at least three times a day, so there's a pretty big audience for this. However, the show does not make the big bucks like a more traditional news program on television. Ad dollars are likely not as high on Snapchat as they are on primetime television.
Stay Tuned is not the only show NBC has on Snapchat. Offshoots of The Voice, World of Dance, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live can also be found on Snapchat. The Voice even won Snapchat its first ever Emmy nomination. NBC will continue its relationship with the social app by developing more content for Snapchat Discover by teaming up with Buzzfeed for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea. They previously created content last year for the Rio Summer Olympics as well.
It sounds like mobile television programs will be sticking around and growing in number. How content is shared and created has been changing for some time, as developments in technology make everything more personable and easy to digest. It only makes sense for a news program targeted at young people would do well, but we'll see what else can arise out of this.
For more TV updates, make sure to keep it right here at CinemaBlend. To learn more about all the shows hitting for the rest of the season, check out our summer TV premiere guide. Get psyched for a new season of TV with our fall TV premiere guide.
