Snapchat original series “SnapperHero” to be made by YouTube and Vine stars, sponsored by AT&T
YouTube Stars Expand to Snapchat — Don't Miss Out — … (Bloomberg) — Snapchat Inc. is getting its own superhero series, the latest sign that the ephemeral-messaging startup …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the origin point of Snapchat's original-content arc: SnapperHero is the app's first scripted series, built on an unusual division of labor — established YouTube and Vine stars making the show rather than a studio — with AT&T buying the sponsorship rather than running interruptive ads. Episodes live in Discover for just 24 hours, so the format is native to the app's ephemerality, not ported from television.
What follows over the next few years validates the experiment: Disney-ABC signs on as a producer within two years (an after-party show for The Bachelor leads the slate), content VP Nick Bell commits to scripted originals, and by late 2018 the single sponsored show has scaled into Snap Originals — twelve daily scripted shows plus a branded-creator program.
First-order effects
- The named YouTube and Vine stars gain a new revenue and distribution channel beyond their home platforms — paid production work inside Snapchat's Discover feed with a telecom sponsor attached.
- AT&T gets embedded brand placement in front of Snapchat's young audience at launch, paying to be part of the show itself rather than buying ads around it.
Second-order effects
- Legacy media takes the cue that Snapchat is a distribution partner worth producing for — Disney-ABC's move into Snapchat originals signals TV studios chasing younger viewers where they already are.
- Other brands watching AT&T's sponsorship get a template: pairing with popular creators becomes a product, formalized three years later in Snapchat's Storytellers program matching brands with top content makers.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, messaging apps evolve into mobile-first networks with scheduled original slates — Discover shifting from curated publisher content toward platform-commissioned programming, culminating in a daily scripted lineup.
- Sponsorship-funded creator content becomes a structural alternative to both TV advertising and influencer posts, with the 24-hour episode window establishing brevity as a format requirement for mobile video.
The trend: Messaging apps are becoming mobile-first TV networks, starting with brand-sponsored shows made by cross-platform stars and scaling into daily original slates.