Anything YouTube Can Do, Snapchat Can Do Better

Snap is here to do everything that YouTube couldnt. The first thriving digital video community was monumental in opening the lane for entertainment online. Yet, all of their ambitions have or will soon fall short to another Snapchat milestone.

Snapchat is just as much of a digital entertainment hub as it is a social network. Snaps first baby captured the younger demographic by storm and after the IPO, many have prematurely questioned their longevity. Ironically enough, theyre aligning to solidify their place as the next generation of video entertainment.

Just days ago its been confirmed that Snap was able to secure Donna Ogier, Apple Newss former media partnerships lead , to help with their Discover section. This power play was only one of Snaps most recent moves.

Just as YouTube was able to revolutionize digital video with a legacy community, Snapchat offers a new content model that will define entertainment for the younger, mobile demographic.

How Snapchat Built an Unrivaled Entertainment Model

Snapchats core product at their inception was a network of user-generated video content. Well.. is that the definition of a social network, is probably what youre thinking. True. But they were able to turn our content into their cash cow.

Snap enlisted an ad network that would slide seamlessly within these stories, monetizing off of the tv show that is you and your friends. Yet Discover, Snapchats actual entertainment platform has brought an entirely new experience to news and even now scripted content all through a short-form video model.

CNBC recently wrote that Snap paid nearly $60 million to its media partners , for context, they paid out just $10 million in 2015. In only the 2nd year of a structured ad revenue model, theyre even beginning to secure licensing deals with certain publishers to lock in their segments for yearly contracts, in which case Snapchat would retain their full ad revenue.

Whats more pivotal, as it pertains to the social media landscape, is that as video becomes a priority, as does original content. Snapchat has had a focus on original content and its become a large part of their unique experience offering. Theyve been able to secure original content deals with Discover from Discovery, ABC, NBC and even the expected-rival, Turner.

Now 40 with channels, there arent outlets with their own unique channels so theyll have to brand themselves with the experience and quality of the content they offer with the goal of resonating well with this younger, mobile-centric demographic.

Snapchat has essentially created television of the new era with a community of short-form content both on the local level as well as with nationally syndicated brands in with both news and scripted entertainment. Whether you want to see your friends or your television crush, Snapchats got it somewhere. Theyve created a model where publishers are rewarded for the most popular content, as the best rises to the top.

Former Apple News exec, Donna Ogier is joining an accomplished group, including former New York Post executive David Brinker and Nick Bell, the VP of Content, who will collectively lead their Discover platform.

With the blatant mimicking of innovation from competitors like Facebook and their portfolio companies, its a true testament to Snapchats prestige as far as social video. Though we may throw stones at their public offering, their place in history is undoubtedly solidified.