Dive Brief:

• Online job listings reported on by International Business Times and posted by Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. reference a Snapchat “Original Shows” team and an opening for a developmental manager who will “oversee development and production of scripted and unscripted programming.”
• The listing points to Snapchat's goal of adding original TV-like content for its users.
• The social media app previously features Snapchat-specific content via partnerships with media companies including a deal with NBC announced in August.

Dive Insight:

Adding original programming to the app gives Snapchat a way to keep users engaged with the app as well as a way to show potential investors that it's working to stay ahead of a shifting media marketplace as people are proving to be willing to find news and entertainment in more nontraditional places, maybe even in social media apps.

Competitors such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are all also beefing up their programming as more consumers cut the cord and shift away from traditional TV. YouTube's first original program arrived earlier this year while Twitter signed a deal with the NBA this summer for live original programming. E! News is one of several brands airing original live programming on Facebook. 

According to earlier reporting by Digiday, Snapchat is serious enough about original programming that the app is being included in coverage updates from talent agencies like CAA and WME for shows from six to eight minutes across a variety of formats, including reality TV.

Snap is expected to release an initial public offering of its stock in March, and the brand has been actively making moves to ensure its financial attractiveness ahead of the move. One main step was forming the parent company which is self-labeled as a “camera” company with one product for now – Spectacles. That move signaled a differentiation between Snap and the signature social media app. For the app, Snapchat has made huge strides in becoming more marketer-friendly by adding features such as targeting and measurement that weren’t available during the app's first years. With these advancements in mind, eMarketer predicts that Snapchat’s ad revenue will triple next year.