FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 29th, 2017

NBC OLYMPICS AND SNAP INC. EXPAND PARTNERSHIP TO BRING 2018 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES COVERAGE TO SNAPCHATTERS IN THE U.S.

NBC Ad Sales to Offer Exclusive Advertising Opportunities Available Across Snapchat Discover and Creative Tools, including Snap Ads, Geofilters and Lenses

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 29, 2017 – NBC Olympics and Snap Inc. will partner to bring unique Olympic Winter Games coverage from PyeongChang, South Korea, to Snapchatters in the United States next February, including NBC Olympic coverage via daily “Our Stories” and “Publisher Stories” available in Snapchat Discover. NBC Olympics will work with BuzzFeed to co-produce the Publisher Stories.

Through this partnership, sales packages will include not only the Snap Ad slots that will run within Our Stories and Publisher Stories, but also opportunities to purchase national Geofilters and Lenses in the U.S.

Today’s announcement follows last year’s successful partnership around the 2016 Rio Olympics, which included daily Our Stories and an NBC Rio Publisher Story, the latter also co-produced with BuzzFeed. Nearly 35 million Snapchatters in the U.S. consumed NBC’s Rio Olympic coverage on Snapchat, totaling over 230 million minutes of consumed content. The vast majority of the consumption was from Snapchatters under age 35.

“Snapchat is an incredibly dynamic platform, offering unique coverage opportunities that allowed us to extend the broad reach of the Olympics during the Rio Games, especially engaging young fans,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “With Snapchat’s continually evolving platform, and with the expertise our partners at BuzzFeed have of creating relatable, sharable content, we are looking forward to bringing the depth and quality of this coverage to the next level for our audience and advertisers at the 2018 Winter Olympics.”

“We’re excited to once again work with NBC to create a unique Olympic experience on Snapchat and help build the next generation of fans through immersive, mobile first content,” said Ben Schwerin, VP Partnerships at Snap Inc. “Advertisers will also be offered adjacency to premium video content and creative tools that bring them into our community’s conversations.”

The Our Story coverage, which will be available for all Snapchatters in the U.S. to view, will include behind-the-scenes and fan moments submitted by Snapchatters on the ground in PyeongChang and curated by Snapchat to capture the experience and excitement of attending this global event. NBC Olympics coverage on Snapchat will also include clips from NBC’s PyeongChang Olympic content, brand marks, logos, and more to bring viewers into the action.

The NBC Olympics Winter Games Publisher Stories will include content that covers all aspects of the Games, co-produced by a dedicated BuzzFeed team on the ground in PyeongChang. As an NBC Olympics’ social partner for the Games, BuzzFeed will leverage NBC’s access to athletes, as well as clips and shots from inside and outside PyeongChang Olympic venues, to bring Snapchatters a fresh, mobile-first look at the Games.

Both the Our Stories and Publisher Stories will be available on Snapchat throughout the Winter Games, as well as during select key dates leading up to February.

NBC’s primetime coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, begins Thursday, February 8, 2018. The Opening Ceremony takes place on Friday, February 9, 2018.

About NBC Olympics

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic Games coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032.

–THE WINTER OLYMPICS–