Snapchat continues Rio 2016 push as it partners with IPC for first global Paralympic Live Story
Snapchat is continuing its coverage of the Rio 2016 Games by partnering with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to showcase the world's first Paralympic Live Story on the platform.
Snapchat continues Rio 2016 push as it partners with IPC for first global Paralympic Live Story
Live Stories are compilations of Snaps submitted by users at events and locations around the world. They are curated by Snapchat, and typically appear for 24 hours. The Paralympic push is set to premiere on Thursday (15 September) and will see footage from a series of sporting events showcased to Snapchatters around the globe.
The action from the Paralympic Games will be shown from the point of view of fans, athletes and behind-the-scenes reports, with the format allowing Snapchat users in and around Paralympic venues to contribute their pictures or videos in order to help sew together a story. The final package will then be broadcast to Snapchat's 150-million strong subscriber base who can open the Live Story with just one click.
The IPC will give exclusive access to sporting events on 15 September to the Snapchat team, including entry to events in athletics, canoe, road cycling and equestrian.
Anticipated highlights of the coverage including Dutcc Paralympic champion Marlou van Rhijn going head-to-head with London 2012 silver medalist France's Marlou van Rhijn going head-to- head with London 2012 silver medalist France’s Marie Amelie Le Fur in the women’s 200m T44, and the first ever Paralympic Games canoe category, offering fans the chance to be part of a moment in history.
The Paralympic partnership follows on from Snapchat's announcement that more than half of the 10 million people who use the messaging app daily in the UK watched the Live Stories it produced in partnership with the BBC for the Olympic Games.
Within the first seven days of the Olympics, almost 50 million viewers turned to the app to watch coverage from the event. Data from the startup published in the Financial Times revealed that close to one in three of its users viewed Olympics clips within the Live Stories section of the app throughout the first week of the tournament.
The coverage was underpinned by a slew of partnerships with global networks including official US broadcaster NBC and media behemoth BuzzFeed to create content for Snapchat's Discover section for publishers.
Commenting on the Paralympic deal, Snapchat’s director of partnerships Ben Schwerin, said the Live Stories would "bring hundreds of unique perspectives from the Paralympic Games" right to users' phones.
"Snapchat’s Live Stories will capture what it feels like to experience the Games - from the triumphant wins of athletes to the atmosphere in the crowd," he added.
Meanwhile, the IPC's director of communications Craig Spence said the deal would give the committee a "a fantastic opportunity to reach new audiences with content that was previously not available for fans.
"We will allow them to be part of history and gain an insight into the lives of Paralympic athletes," he added.