The NFL is expanding its presence on Snapchat.
The league announced today that it will become the first sports league with a dedicated channel on Snapchat’s “Discover” platform, giving fans another way to stay up-to-date via video and photo content.
The league plans to use NFL Media employees who will produce a “Live Story” for each game throughout the upcoming season, including the Super Bowl, and in addition to other events like the NFL Draft and Scouting Combine. The “Live Stories,” which last 24 hours, will be a combination of location-based fan-submitted Snaps and “inside access content.” Fans will also be able to use custom team-specific geofilters at stadiums, practice facilities, and other events.
The extended partnership is not a huge surprise, as the NFL was hiring a Snapchat editor last month. The NFL said more than 70 million people viewed “Live Stories” about NFL games and events last year. That content, though, wasn’t hosted on the “Discover” platform— expect a more organized and concerted effort from the NFL on Snapchat this season.
Other Snapchat “Discover” media partners include ESPN, BuzzFeed, Mashable, IGN, and others. The feature, which lets brand advertise within “Live Stories” content, got a redesign in June. It’s not clear how Snapchat and the NFL will split advertising revenue with the extended partnership.
The Wall Street Journal noted that users in the U.K., Canada, and Mexico will also be able to access the NFL’s “Discover” channel on a limited basis. This is important as the NFL, like other professional sports leagues, try to use digital technology to grow their games abroad.
Snapchat, which has around 150 million users, has steadily inked partnerships with other professional sports leagues like the MLB, NBA and NHL over the past few years, giving fans a unique look at sporting events around the world via its messaging platform. One ad exec told Digiday last year that “Snapchat is turning into the SportsCenter of cultural moments,” which is interesting given what appears to be waning interest in sports highlight TV shows. The leagues clearly see Snapchat as a way to want to reach the younger generation, along with other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which inked a streaming deal for Thursday Night Football with the NFL earlier this year.
