With deals from the NFL and MLB already on the books, Snapchat on Friday locked up another major sports partnership: A deal with NBC to show Olympics highlights from the 2016 Games in Rio inside the app’s Discover section.
Snapchat will show you Olympics highlights. What about Facebook and Twitter?
NBC is in talks with both Facebook and Twitter to strike similar deals to what it inked with Snapchat.
Adam Pretty / Getty Images
It will be the first time NBC has ever distributed highlights somewhere other than an NBC-owned property, the company told Re/code, which means it will be different from Snapchat’s MLB and NFL partnerships, which give Snapchat exclusive behind-the-scenes video at games but don’t offer up actual broadcast footage.
In return for the video content, Snapchat will give NBC access to its super-young user base, plus the chance to sell more ads alongside these highlights. The two companies have a revenue share in place for whatever ads NBC can sell, but won’t disclose details on the split.
One key detail worth noting: This is not an exclusive partnership. That is, NBC can partner with other social platforms as well, and that’s exactly what it’s trying to do.
NBC is in talks with both Facebook and Twitter to strike similar deals, an NBC spokesperson told Re/code. That makes sense. Twitter has a video ad product, Amplify, that it uses to monetize sports highlights as soon as they happen on live TV, and it’s looking to push advertisers toward video ads. Showing Olympics highlights would help with that.
Facebook has a massive user base of 1.6 billion people worldwide and also wants more video advertising.
Both platforms are clamoring for more video content, and NBC will have the hottest video in town come August. Plus, it’s a way for NBC to reach young people who may not watch much live TV.
Twitter CFO Anthony Noto told Re/code earlier this week that following Twitter’s streaming deal with the NFL, the company is in talks with “the most important and popular” sports leagues in the world for more video content. Those talks include broadcast and network partners that own these video distribution rights, he added.
NBC is in that group. A Twitter spokesperson confirmed the two sides are in chats about Olympics content but wouldn’t share specifics.
Bloomberg first reported on the Snapchat/NBC partnership. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
