Snapchat Introduces Its Discover Feature In India With Local Content

SUMMARY

Local shows and stories from publishers to start appearing in the app soon

The feature was also recently launched in other international markets

Ad makers will also be able to benefit from the feature

US-based Snap Inc. has introduced its Discover feature in India as the image sharing app fights off Instagram’s rising popularity in the country.

The Discover feature, which was first introduced by the company in the US in 2015, allows Snapchat users to view news in the form of Snapchat Stories. After 24 hours, the stories disappear and are replaced with fresh content.

To cover a wide range of interests, Snapchat has partnered with CNN, Vice, Yahoo News, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Daily Mail, ESPN, Food Network, and Cosmopolitan.

In India, the social media platform has partnered with Brut. India, HuffPost India, The Logical Indian, The Quint, VICE India, and TVF to produce video content covering news, current events, culture and lifestyle.

This is the first time Snapchat is bringing local content to India. In the last month, the company has launched the Discover feature in UK, France, Germany, Norway, and the Middle East.

According to an ET report, the total time spent on watching shows on Snapchat has globally tripled since the beginning of the year.

Snapchat Vs Instagram

Snapchat has been losing ground to Instagram in India where its number of daily active Indian users reduced by 1.5% to 188 Mn in the second quarter of 2018 from 191 Mn in the last quarter.

Meanwhile, Facebook-owned Instagram launched IGTV in June this year. The feature, which is accessible both through the app and as a standalone app, allows users to stream videos in vertical format.

Though Snapchat and Instagram now share a lot of the same features, Instagram’s stories feature alone has grown to 400 Mn daily users worldwide — more than Snapchat’s total users.

With about half a billion Internet users in India, Snapchat is now focussing on grabbing market share by producing regional content to woo new users as well as stay relevant with existing users.