Snapchat Testing Netflix-Like Homepage for Shows Featuring Stars, Influencers

In a bid to compete with content streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, photo messaging app Snapchat is testing a new feature to let users binge-watch original content on its app, Metro.co.uk reported on Monday. For Snapchat's 'Creators Shows', celebrities and influencers like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Serena Williams and Kevin Hart will record short videos that are monetised and displayed inside the app as short-form, vertically-oriented original videos.

Currently, the short original clips are integrated into the 'Discover' section of Snapchat, But the company is now planning to let users swipe over from the Discover page into a dedicated 'Shows' section, the report said.

The design of the new section would have a grid layout that would include users' subscribed and recently watched shows.

Without divulging further details, a Snapchat spokesperson confirmed that the company was indeed testing the feature, the report added.

According to a report by The Verge, Creator Shows will be first-person, vertical videos shows with themes like beauty, fitness, dance, fashion, and more.

“It'll be a new format addition to Snapchat Shows, which the company says tripled in time viewers spent watching every day over the last year,” The Verge wrote. 

Earlier in April, Snapchat had revealed its plans of pushing original content on its app as part of its immediate plans. 

Written with inputs from IANS