Snapchat is apparently ready to get serious about making money through advertising.
Starting Tuesday, the company behind the popular messaging app of the same name, which lets people send missives that disappear after a set time, will begin serving users of the app multimedia content from major brands such as CNN and Warner Music, according to reports.
The feature, now purportedly called Discover, was reported on last summer, when it was said to be planned for a November 2014 launch. It will include videos, photos and articles from publishers such as CNN, ESPN, Vice and Warner Music, according to unnamed sources cited Monday by Recode. Snapchat plans to sell ads that will run alongside the content, and share revenue with the publishers.
Comedy Central, Food Network and National Geographic are on board as well, the New York Post reported, and the feature will also include original content created by Snapchat, digital-media publication Digiday said earlier.
Snapchat did not respond to a request for comment.
The launch would mark an uptick in Snapchat's efforts to generate revenues through ads. Last October, the company started showing some ads to users in their list of recent messages. The first such ad, a link to a 20-second trailer for the Universal Pictures' film "Ouija," prompted millions of Snapchat users to click through and watch the trailer, leaving Universal satisfied with the effort, The Los Angeles Times said at the time.
Three-year-old Snapchat has yet to make a significant amount of money, but industry insiders clearly see it as a force to be reckoned with. Facebook offered $3 billion for the company in 2013 but was rebuffed. And last year Snapchat gained a place on the list of the Top 10 US venture capital deals, The Wall Street Journal reported -- a $486 million investment in the company brought it in at No. 9. Snapchat has been valued at $10 billion.
In August, industry researcher ComScore said Snapchat was the third-most popular social-media app among people between the ages of 18 and 34 -- behind only Facebook and Instagram.