NBC is taking a new tack, turning away from traditional TV and toward the smartphone in an effort to bring the news to cord cutters and cord nevers.
As first reported by Recode, the network on Wednesday launched a news show called “Stay Tuned” that will be delivered to users on Snapchat. The show will air twice each day – once in the morning and once in the afternoon – during the week to cover domestic and international news, politics, and culture, among other things. The show will also air a weekend broadcast, and will offer breaking news updates as necessary.
NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the show’s debut.
According to an NBC News article, “Stay Tuned” will be hosted by NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz and MSNBC correspondent Savannah Sellers. The pair will be backed by a 30-person production crew.
Snapchat has previously teamed up with publishers like the NBA and BBC to bring shows to its audience. NBCUniversal has also worked with the company previously to launch “The Voice” through the app, as well as spots including “Saturday Night Live” and E!’s “The Rundown.” Additional shows for Snapchat are in development, NBC News indicated.
Recode reports NBC will cover all production costs, but will split ad revenue from the show with Snapchat.
The shift to delivering content via social media comes as the cord-cutting and cord-never trend kicks into high gear.
The Diffusion Group in May indicated more than half of those who have cancelled their legacy pay TV service did so in 2015 and 2016, and a third of cord cutters dropped their service in 2016 alone. More on that here.
