More Middle East media brands to add content on Snapchat

Building on the popularity of its Discover page, over 30 popular series from more than 20 of the Middle East’s most loved media brands including ITP Media, the publisher of Arabian Business, will be launching on Snapchat.These partnerships expand the local content already available on Snapchat’s Discover page.TV networks and entertainment studios are reimagining popular series for Snapchat, with shows across entertainment, sport and food.

Content has been cut in the vertical, full screen format pioneered by Snapchat and which has since become the de facto standard for mobile. Each show averages five minutes in length.

Discover launched in January 2015 with 18 brand partners producing Publisher Stories and today, it has over 100 globally. Local content first arrived in the region in May 2017, with seven partners, rising to nine in the same year.Snap said the time spent watching shows on Snapchat globally has more than tripled since the beginning of the year.Rami Saad, head of International Content Partnerships at Snap, said: “The Middle East is a very engaged content market for Snap – we saw a 54 percent increase in time spent in Discover from April to September of this year. From the sneak peak we’ve had of these shows, I have no doubt Snapchatters are going to love them.”Ahmad Bashour, general manager, ITP Live, added: “We are excited about this partnership with Snap, as it fits naturally with our vision and strategy of creating unique content in the format our consumers require. We expect the venture to exponentially grow our overall audience reach and engagement across the GCC.”