Sean Mills22:25
It's wonderful to share this moment with so many of our partners. The most creative people have always embraced constraints, using them as fuel for inspiration. We saw this firsthand when our partners began making content that was truly native to mobile. Where others saw limitations, a smaller screen in a vertical frame, we found opportunities for innovation. Together, we pioneered new forms of mobile storytelling, turning Discover into a one-of-a-kind destination for hundreds of millions of Snapchatters. Now, in a moment that has brought new constraints, our partners have shown that same optimism, imagination, and ingenuity. From quickly adapting to remote production to launching new series like Will Smith's wildly creative talk show, Will From Home, which has been watched by more than 35 million Snapchatters. To partnering with creators like Alicia Keys on a show to help keep students reading outside the classroom. We aim to be the best platform partner for media companies and storytellers to develop compelling content, reach our unique community, and build strong businesses. And we're making tremendous progress. In the last year, time spent watching Discover content has grown by 35%. And in the first quarter of this year, time spent watching shows on Snapchat has doubled. This is due to the hard work and creativity of our content partners, a group that now includes 350 partners across 15 countries. And these relationships continue to grow in size and scope. Today, I'm proud to announce expanded multi-year content partnerships with Disney, ESPN, NBC, ViacomCBS, the NBA, and the NFL. These will bring new shows, up-to-the-minute highlights, and continue hugely successful franchises like SportsCenter on Snapchat, Teen Code, and E!'s The Rundown, which just celebrated its 500th episode. Our longest-standing partners continue to grow on Snapchat. First, now reaches nearly 50 million Snapchatters each month across all their channels. Newer digital-native companies are growing as well. Both Wave and Barcroft Studios, top creators of sports and lifestyle content, now reach monthly audiences of more than 45 million people. We're seeing this partner growth around the world. Outside the US, we've expanded our programming with Channel 4 in the UK, Le Figaro in France, and Rotana, who now reaches an average of 10 million Snapchatters in the Middle East each month. We're working closely with our partners to build their businesses on Snapchat. In 2019, we paid out 60% more revenue to our partners than the year before. While Discover continues to grow, our approach remains the same. We're a curated platform. We embrace editorial selectivity. We believe the best way to serve our community is by working with a select set of partners who share our passion for creating mobile content in new ways. It's these same partners that our community has relied on to provide trusted information about the ongoing pandemic. In the past 3 months, over 80 million Snapchatters have viewed special coverage from over 100 partners, including NBC News, The Guardian, and Le Monde. More than 125 million people have watched news stories on Snapchat this year alone. This surge in interest demonstrates that when something happens in the world, the first screen our community turns to is the one in their hand. And while they can go in depth with our shows and publisher stories, sometimes they just want to catch up quickly. With that in mind, earlier this year, we began to roll out Happening Now, a dedicated news product offering Snapchatters the fastest way to find out what's going on in the world up-to-the-minute at any time. We've worked with incredible partners like The Washington Post, ESPN, and BuzzFeed to turn updates on the biggest stories into single snaps, creating a new format designed for the fast and frequent way Snapchatters view news on mobile. You'll even get a personalized weather update, featuring your Bitmoji, as well as horoscopes from our partner Sanctuary. Everyday Snapchatters use our camera to capture events that happen around them. Some of the most impactful news snaps and happening now will come from the perspective of our community who are experiencing these moments first hand. Today, we're proud to announce Happening Now is available to everyone in the US, and we look forward to rolling it out to more of the world in the next year. While Happening Now is a new way for our community to stay informed, we're also inventing new ways for them to be entertained. Snap has always led the way in augmented reality, and we believe in a future where we don't just watch stories, we live them. Where our living room is the stage, and we are written into the script. In the upcoming season of our hit franchise Face Forward from our partner NBC, Snapchatters can become part of the show with their very own AR makeover that mirrors the one happening on screen. AR also heightens the action in Fake Up from Mission Control, where viewers can try on custom lenses that bring the show's illusions to life. In Move It, AR transforms the way some of the world's best dancers teach you the latest moves. With motion tracking lenses that are visually arresting and keep up with you step by step. In the next year, AR will help invite millions of Snapchatters into our shows and bring our shows into the world around them. We're excited to continue building on these innovations with our newest Snap Originals, which in just a short time have been hugely successful in creating lasting franchises, loyal fans, and showing that big things can happen on the small screen.