Today, NowThis, the #1 news brand on mobile [Nielsen June 2020] and TikTok announced the launch of the new live series VIRAL, focused on arming audiences with important information about navigating this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. VIRAL is TikTok’s first-ever series on public health education and first live episodic series with a publishing partner. The weekly series will launch on April 15th and air Thursdays at 6PM ET.
Hosted by Laurel Bristow, an experienced infectious disease clinical researcher who has dedicated the last year to working on COVID treatments and research,” VIRAL is a 45-minute weekly interactive series that will feature interviews from public health experts and live Q&A with the TikTok community, answering their questions about the pandemic. Every Thursday, Bristow will break down the facts about COVID in easy to understand language — from vaccine efficacy and transmission timelines to treatment and myth-busting — providing information about public health risks as the pandemic continues. The show will also include an interview segment with a diverse cross-section of experts, as well as audience Q&A.
From our partners:
“With a newsroom trusted by young audiences to cover the most pressing issues of the day, NowThis has built its brand as a first-mover on emerging social platforms with coverage that informs and inspires,” said NowThis’ Chief Content Officer Tina Exarhos. “Partnering with TikTok on this unique live series will allow audiences to get critical information that will help them navigate this challenging and ever-evolving pandemic.”
“As the world continues to face the pandemic, we’re committed to helping our community access timely, accurate information on our app,” said Robbie Levin, Manager, Media Partnerships at TikTok. “We’re proud to be partnering with NowThis to share credible insights from public health experts and enable our community to have their questions around COVID-19 answered in real-time.”
In a little over a year since launching on TikTok, NowThis has amassed 4.6 million followers with its news and politics channels, making it one of the most followed news sources on TikTok. As a leader on the platform, NowThis recently hosted the 2021 SXSW featured session “How GenZ Duets the News on TikTok” to highlight the strategy that keeps young audiences engaged with news content on the platform, and was highlighted by Business Insider as having two of the top five fastest-growing accounts on the platform.
About NowThis:
NowThis is the #1 mobile news brand in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, June 2020]. They have a singular mission: to make news engaging and relevant for young adults by humanizing our complicated world. By providing insightful context from a youth perspective, NowThis has revolutionized how news is consumed today. Launched in 2012, NowThis’ entertaining, inspiring and informative videos are created for a mobile generation and receive over 2.6 billion monthly views [platform analytics, June 2020]. In December 2016, NowThis joined forces with Thrillist, The Dodo and Seeker to form Group Nine Media — the #1 video publisher on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, June 2020].
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