We’ve seen Snapchat push into sports in a big way with deals such as the Olympic video one and MLB’s “Snapchat Day,” and now it looks like the NFL is going to get in on the Snapchat action (beyond just Russell Wilson and Ciara using the service to talk about having sex, a very different form of action). Kerry Flynn reports at Mashable that the NFL is looking to hire a managing editor for a Snapchat Discover (the app’s way of hosting publisher content) channel:
The NFL is looking to hire a managing editor for a Snapchat Discover team who can “help create a distinguished vision/voice for the NFL Snapchat Discover channel that represents the future of the NFL brand,” according to a recent job posting on LinkedIn.
The managing editor will oversee “content execution” and choose what type of “story element (i.e., Video vs. Animation vs. Article).”
A spot on Discover is a new step for the NFL and Snapchat. Last September, the league and the company inked a year-long deal to create Live Stories — curated collections of photos and videos from fans, players and league employees taken with Snapchat — from the season opener until Super Bowl 50.
The MLB, NHL, NBA, PGA and the NCAA also had programming partnerships with Snapchat for Live Stories.
What’s particularly interesting here is that, as Flynn goes on to write, a Discover channel goes beyond just the Live Stories and elevates the NFL to a space that has previously been reserved for more traditional publishers (as well as a few brands):
The NFL’s Discover channel will allow the league to not just be limited to snaps but also to share other types of content such as pre-made videos and articles to Snapchat’s highly-coveted audience of a reported 150 million daily active users.
That type of content creation on Snapchat has been limited to media publishers and a select number of brands for the last year and a half.
So, that could signal either that Snapchat is opening Discover wider in general or that it’s struck a special deal with the NFL. Either’s a notable move, and one that furthers both Snapchat’s foray into sports and its relationships with leagues. We’ll see what further news comes out here and who’s hired (they’re looking for a “social media junky” (sic)!), but this is definitely an interesting step, and one to keep an eye on.
[Mashable]
