LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Snapchat has decided to shut-down its in-house original content provider Snap Channel less than a year after it started producing its own videos, stories and shows.
Launched in January, Snap Channel---which could be found on the app's Discovery platform--- was created in order for the social media company to create its own original programming similar in nature to Netflix and other streaming services.
Earlier this month, Snapchat removed the channel that housed programs such as Literally Can't Even and Vergaraland with the promise that it would eventually return. Now as Deadline reports, after careful examination the company cancelled any future plans with the channel and subsequently laid-off the staff responsible for running it.
This lead to Snapchat's big hire, Marcus Wiley, Fox's former senior vice president of comedy to send in his resignation. "Given that we are winding down the Snap Channel, it's natural that Marcus would want to explore other opportunities," Snapchat said in a statement to Deadline. "He is a tremendous talent, and we wish him well."
Snapchat has not ruled out revisiting original programming in the future, but for now the company will be relying on its ad-supported channels run by partners such as ESPN, CNN and BuzzFeed for original content and news.
The smartphone application was launched in 2011 and boasts over 100 million active monthly users. Snapchat allows users to send photos and videos with added text and drawings that are later deleted after a set amount of time.
