Now this news from NBC.
The NBCUniversal News Group said Sunday that it has taken a minority stake in social video start-up NowThis News. The two companies will work together out of New York to produce original videos for the rapidly growing social media world.
As the iPhone generation continues to flock toward quick-to-digest video, the collaboration will allow the companies to draw on each other's strengths: NBC's news operations and NowThis News' approach to short-form storytelling.
CNBC
Instagram and Vine—which have more than 150 million monthly active users and 40 million registered users, respectively—are just two of the video applications already sitting inside the pockets of teenagers and young adults, an audience the two sides hope to tap.
"We know that news consumption among younger audiences continues to grow, but in order to reach that audience, you need to create it for the platforms they use most," Patricia Fili-Krushel, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said in a statement.
NowThis News, which launched in fall 2012, has produced more than 10,000 original short videos, averaging 12 million monthly views. It creates at least 50 clips a day, focused on millennials.
By teaming up, the companies "can learn from each other and build a great digital news experience that's a win-win for the new news consumer who wants all video, all the time, built for social and mobile," Kenneth Lerer, co-founder of NowThis News and managing director of Lerer Ventures, said in a statement.
NBCUniversal will work with NowThis News to create short clips for four of the news group's brands: NBC News, "Today," MSNBC and CNBC.
The companies will also jointly create advertising opportunities for their clients and partners.
Earlier this month, NBCUniversal News announced a strategic investment and content partnership with recode.net parent Revere Digital, a new media venture led by veteran technology journalists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.
