Announced this Summer through Facebook’s Newsroom, Facebook has recently launched Facebook Watch to some users in the US, which will host video content including hundreds of shows, similar to Google’s YouTube offering, Sony’s Crackle, or Amazon Prime Video. Content on Watch will include many original shows including Safari Live by Nat Geo WILD, Returning the Favor with Mike Rowe, Kitchen Little, & sports broadcasting one MLB game per week. Watch will be available for viewing on the computer, tablets, mobile and on TV apps.
The feeds of Facebook Watch will be personalized to help users discover new content that they will be interested in, which is organized around their friends and communities are watching. Users can use Facebook’s reactions to give feedback on shows they watched, and there will be categories of shows based on users reactions, such as “What’s Making People Laugh”. Facebook Watch is trying to establish a community and bond between viewers, so comments from other viewers can be seen during the show to help create conversations. Users can subscribe to shows by adding them to their Watchlist, which will let users know when new episodes are released.
Like YouTube, the revenue model will include the Pre-Roll style advertisements – the first of their kind on any of Facebook’s platforms, with the money raised through advertising being split between Facebook and the show’s creators. The closest thing they had to pre-roll ads in the past was mid-roll video ads that appeared in the middle of videos that users watched on Facebook, this original content will give advertisers a new way to reach their audience on Facebook.
Users in Canada will be able to access this content once it is fully rolled out – once you see a “Watch” tab in your feed, clicking that will bring you to the feed of shows and videos to watch. For anyone interested in creating shows for the platform, you can learn more on Facebook’s Media Blog.
Web Geeks is excited to see what new shows will be released when Watch rolls out to Canada, and what Canadians will produce for others to watch. For all of your social media marketing & digital advertising needs, Web Geeks is here to create a strategy that works for your business to connect with its audience.