Discovery Touts Content for Snapchat and Amazon
March 28 2017 - 2:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Alexandra Bruell
Discovery Communications Inc. is eyeing growth through digital
content for platforms like Snapchat, as well as international
expansion, the cable network-owner said Tuesday at its annual event
for the kickoff of the "upfront" ad sales season.
Discovery, which recently announced a new deal to develop shows
for Snapchat's Discover platform, said it will add a Snapchat
channel for Eurosport, the sports network it controls/owns, that
will include content around the Winter Olympics.
The company also is adding a new wedding-focused Amazon channel,
"Say Yes," that will feature moments from the "Say Yes" franchise,
as well as new content.
David Zaslav, Discovery's chief executive, said the company is
pivoting from a focus on channels to a focus on "IP," or content
that the company owns and can distribute on the platforms and in
the geographies it chooses.
"We have to figure out IP that can be on every device," Mr.
Zaslav said.
The company also said it can help advertisers customize their
ads running on Discovery's linear TV channels for content on other
social digital platforms.
Discovery has increased its investment in content from $400
million to $2.3 billion over the last ten years, the company said.
It also continues to add new and existing programming abroad.
The company last year i nvested $100 million in Group Nine, a
network of digital media sites including The Dodo and
Thrillist.
Multi-platform viewing is a major focus. Discovery says
streaming on its channels' GO apps, which enable subscribers to
stream TV content on various devices, is growing at a healthy clip.
The company is expecting 1% incremental ad revenue per quarter from
the apps.
As the company invests in digital content, ad buyers want
metrics that account for viewing across all devices and
formats.
Discovery's plan in that area involves a partnership with
comScore and Symphony, as well as the creation of its own system to
"provide unduplicated measurement across all platforms," meaning
the avoidance of counting the same viewers more than once.
Measurement giant Nielsen also has developed its own product
that can deliver a "total content rating" for a show across TV and
digital platforms, including mobile. That is still being adopted in
the industry.
"Right now, it's an incomplete solution," said Discovery's Mr.
Zaslav.
Virtual reality videos are also gaining steam, with 126 million
VR streams to date, the company said.
In addition to new content partnerships, the company is betting
on a new slate of programming, and bringing back old hits like
"Trading Spaces."
Discovery Channel is launching a new series called Darkness,
which follows a few people who spend days underground while
navigating cave systems and abandoned mines. Investigation
Discovery is releasing its first scripted limited series, The Von
Bulow Affair, as well as its first scripted movies, Dating Game
Killer, starring Guillermo Diaz, and Final Vision, starring Scott
Foley.
ID "is growing everywhere in the world," the company said.
TLC, meanwhile, is looking to cash in on a "middle America"
moment. "After the Trump election, we went back in the field and
spent time talking to the TLC audience," said Mr. Zaslav. "TLC is
middle America."
Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 28, 2017 15:41 ET (19:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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