Sky News And Sky Sports Launch On Snapchat App

Snapchat has launched the first UK and Ireland-specific channels for its Discover service.

Sky News and Sky Sports will feature on the platform, publishing an edition each afternoon with stories specifically created for the app.

Around five to 10 stories will feature in each edition, curated by editors at both companies. The edition disappears after 24 hours.

Snapchat Discover launched in the US and globally at the end of January.

Some 11 publishers, including Vice, the Daily Mail and National Geographic, featured on the platform.

At the launch, Snapchat said the new service was "not social media... we count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important".

Snapchat chief executive Evan Spiegel said: "We are huge fans of Sky News and Sky Sports and are grateful for the opportunity to partner with their outstanding team."

Snapchat is one of a new wave of messaging apps that have gained popularity, along with WhatsApp, Line and Kik.

Moving from messaging between users to publishing content to them is a shift for Snapchat and could offer a new revenue stream, with adverts served up next to publishers' editions.

Snapchat does not share its number of monthly users, but Techcrunch reported in December that it had around 200 million.

For news organisations, Snapchat offers access to a much younger demographic than even Facebook or Twitter do.

John McAndrew, Director of News Output for Sky News, said: "Our partnership with Snapchat is very exciting. We can reach a whole new audience hungry for news in a concise and creative form on a platform they already enjoy."

To access Discover, users swipe left from the home screen and from the Stories screen.

All the daily editions are then available at a tap. Each story starts with a 10-second headline, and users can swipe down for a longer form take on that story.