Snapchat Has Awkwardly Killed Off Its Own Discover Channel

Snapchat may have found solid ground by being a platform for other brands, even if that brand wants to use your selfie, but it can't seem to hold ground with its own content. Creating content for your own company is hard, as Microsoft itself found out not too long ago. And now Snapchat is following its footsteps. The company announced that it would be shuttering its own Discover Channel after only being in service for about 10 months.

Discover, as you might remember, was added as a sort of appeal to the app's younger audience, giving them snackable articles and videos to look at. In many ways, it was a proving grounds for media companies looking to adapt content to the burgeoning platform, which ushers in 100 million views a month.

Portrait-oriented video notably became an accepted gesture on Snapchat Discover, when everywhere else it was a faux pas. Discover was also, oddly enough, a place where media companies could put their own articles, shareables, and so forth. It was, in other words, a bit of a media playground.

But for now, Discover will now only run with partnered brands, which have grown from 12 to 15 channels (now minus Snapchat's own channel) over the course of the year.

Deadline reports that the channel's programming head was in talks over how the channel would be rolled out for a second iteration when the company rather abruptly shut it down and laid off most of its 15 employees. While other outlets have found a familiar place to put their infinitely shareable bits of content, Snapchat found itself something of an outsider among the sea of news and culture generators. Perhaps it sees itself better serving than creating.