Viacom, Snapchat in ‘unprecedented’ pact

US media giant Viacom has entered into what it describes as an “unprecedented global partnership” with social platform Snapchat.

The wide-ranging agreement covers content production and advertising sales.

Two Viacom networks, Comedy Central International and MTV’s US feed, will be added to Snapchat Discovery, a multiplatform service that bring together video, images and text.

They will sit alongside already-launched Comedy Central and MTV International Discover channels.

Viacom will also “further invest” in original premium video for Snapchat Discover, with “additional resources” being put towards the venture. New content will be uploaded daily, with MTV News debuting today.

New Snapchat-native original MTV series are forthcoming, including “reinvented fan-favourites”, with more details following at a later date.

Comedy Central launches on Snapchat Discover internationally tomorrow, with shows including WTF News and ones featuring stand-up comics. Comedy Central has been available through the platform since January 2015.

The second part of the agreement hands Viacom rights to sell Snapchat’s US-owned and operated ad inventory. Snapchat also gets access to create content around Viacom’s tent pole events, branded as Snapchat Live Stories.

“Viacom and Snapchat naturally complement each other in significant ways that make us ideal partners in both content and business development,” said Wade Davis, CFO, Viacom. “Snapchat captures young audiences on an intimate and immersive mobile video platform while Viacom is the leader in premium long- and short-form storytelling for these same audiences.

hrough this partnership with Viacom, we can now offer television advertisers a way to tell their stories across television and mobile in a frictionless way,” said Imran Khan, Snapchat’s chief strategy officer.

European satcaster Sky, Vice Media and National Geographic are among those that has launched channels on Snapchat Discover.