Snapchat announces new 'Planet Earth II' show
Planet Earth II is going mobile.
BBC Worldwide is launching an exclusive series for Snapchat around its popular television franchise as part of a new partnership with Snap Inc.
Planet Earth II has already aired in the U.K. and is scheduled to premiere in the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 18.
Its digital counterpart, produced by BBC specifically for Snapchat’s vertical mobile viewing experience, will debut on Feb. 17.
See a glimpse of it below.
The Snapchat series, narrated by Academy Award-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo, will include six exclusive episodes.
Each episode will tell a Planet Earth II story, with new storylines and never-before-seen footage from the TV series.
The show will also have a sound effects feature that is new to Snapchat Shows called binaural recording, which is designed to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener so they feel like they are actually in the room with the performers or instruments.
“For millions of Snapchatters, our app is their first screen -- and this will be their first introduction to the unbelievable cinematic quality, storylines and stunning visuals of the Planet Earth franchise," Nick Bell, Vice President of Content for Snap Inc., said in a statement. "We saw a unique opportunity to work with BBC Worldwide to reimagine Planet Earth II for our platform. We can’t wait for our community to get to experience it.”
Planet Earth II will have its own Snapcodes, which are scannable codes that make adding new friends and opening content on the platform easier.
They will enable viewers to get an early preview of the first episode and the ability to watch previous episodes once they begin airing on Snapchat.
Goldman Sachs will be a sponsor for the first episode, and viewers can expect to see ads as the episodes roll out.
This is the latest partnership between Snap Inc. and a network.
Last year, the company struck a multi-year deal with NBCUniversal. Under the deal, NBCUniversal will develop and sell advertising packages incorporating Snapchat’s expanded set of advertising products into its sponsorship, mobile and video offerings.
The first short-form series to launch on the platform was The Voice on Snapchat.
Snap Inc. and Disney ABC Television Group also partnered up to create original episodic shows for Snapchat Discover. Their programming deal kicked off with Watch Party: The Bachelor, a complement to ABC's popular franchise.
Several additional shows from ABC Television Group will roll out on Snapchat in the coming months, as the platform continues to grow its original, scripted and unscripted shows on its Discover platform.
Tim Davie, the CEO of BBC Worldwide, said in a statement that the partnership with Snap Inc. will be "a new way for audiences to discover and delight in world-class storytelling that has been developed by filmmakers who continue to push the boundaries of their craft and present us with such jaw-dropping and universally-adored content.”
Topics Snapchat
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
