The new shows expand the selection of local content available on Snapchat’s Discover page, which already features Publisher Stories from well-known UK brands including the Daily Telegraph and the Economist.

Discover launched in January 2015 with 18 brand partners, and today Snap has more than 100 partners globally. The company says that the expansion of Shows in the UK builds on its success to date in creating unique, TV-like content for Snapchat’s mobile-first audience. Since the beginning of 2018, Snap says that the time spent watching Shows on Snapchat globally has more than tripled. In Q3 2018, 21 unique Shows in Discover reached a monthly active audience of over 10 million viewers globally.

The 17 new Shows partners are: Sky News, Sky Sports, VICE, Gleam Futures, The Guardian, Culture Trip, Hearst / Cosmopolitan UK, Tastemade, COPA90, Channel 4 [trial], Global, Boiler Room, GRM Daily, JOE.co.uk, Brave Bison, PinkNews and Manchester City.

Individual programmes include Fake Or For Real from The Guardian; Hotspots from Sky News; Beyond Beauty and Most Expensivest from VICE; content from new media players such as Culture Trip, COPA90 and Boiler Room. The social media provider adds that content on its Shows section will now be are now easier to find, with dedicated profile pages for each show where Snapchatters can access all available episodes and seasons to watch.

From a commercial perspective, Snapchat advertisers can take advantage of Commercials, six-second non-skippable ad formats, that run in Shows. They will now be available through Snap’s self-serve platform which are said to offer several ROI benefits including improved targeting, measurement and price efficiency. In addition, Commercials offers advertisers alignment with premium, brand-safe content in what Snap calls ‘an engaging and compelling’ format. Commercials will be available across the entire Shows platform.

“We are delighted to be expanding the range of premium content on our platform and welcoming more of the media brands Snapchatters in the UK and beyond know and love,” said Rami Saad, head of international content partnerships at Snap. “Our priority is to provide Snapchatters with a personalised 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.”