Facebook on Thursday launched a new video service, Watch, for its users in the United States. It will be available across the country after a three-week beta run and will eventually be available to Facebook users the world over.
Watch will be available on Facebook’s mobile, computers and TV apps. “Watch is personalised to help you discover new shows, organised around what your friends and communities are watching,” the social media network had said in a statement introducing the service on August 9.
This is the latest development in Facebook’s competition with Google-owned YouTube for online advertising revenue as more people migrate to mobile phones and tablets to watch shows and videos, Reuters reported. Watch will not only curate TV shows and sports events, but will also initially have content specifically created for Facebook.
The company is paying between $10,000 (approximately Rs 6 lakh) and $250,000 (about Rs 1.5 crore) for shows based on the length, Reuters reported, citing unidentified officials.
However, Facebook is not focused on acquiring exclusive rights for shows. Once Facebook opens the platform to everyone to submit shows, the network will share 55% of the advertisement revenue with them.
“The idea is to seed this with good content,” Vice President of Partnerships at Facebook Dan Rose said, adding that they are currently testing how ads work within the shows. “We think our unique opportunity is around community and engaging with people on topics they love to talk about.”
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