There has been rumors about Facebook's plan to ramp up its video offerings. On We’ve been hearing for months about Facebook’s plans to ramp up its video offerings,
Called 'Watch', the product can help Facebook steal more viewers from competitors like YouTube, and even Netflix.
The product comes in the form of a video tab on Facebook's mobile, desktop and also TV apps. It shows channels (Shows) with live or recorded episodic contents that follows a consistent theme.
Initially rolling out to a limited number of content creators, users can watch shows from around the world each day There are also motivational speakers, channels for children and also sports streaming.
Only a limited number of users in the U.S. can test the feature before Facebook finally roll the feature out to more users.
With that in mind, Facebook is ramping up its efforts to take on YouTube, which already has programs to support creators and to help them monetize their videos with ads. The social network also has plans to introduce ad breaks between clips to generate revenue.
And to attract more content creators, Facebook is funding some shows and inviting independent creators to sign up to the platform on their own.
Once they signed up, they will get a Show Page, a feature that is similar to Facebook's Pages for brands where other users can follow.
For viewers, Facebook included a watchlist that allows them to save episodes or Shows to watch them later. They also can discover other videos based on how people were interacting with them. For example, there is a section called 'Most Talked About,' 'What's Making People Laugh,' and 'What Friends Are Watching.'
In addition to that, users can also comment or react to videos while they watch. All that in real-time, similar to Facebook's Live video feature.
With a massive user base of more than two billion people worldwide, Facebook with Watch could offer serious competition to Google's YouTube.
It's also ready to take on heavy hitters like Netflix too, with the company looking to partner with Hollywood producers to create shows for audiences aged 17-30, with multi-million dollar budgets per 30-minute episode.
