New York – Facebook Inc launched its Watch video service to United States users on Thursday with plans to allow people to submit shows, as the No. 1 social media network vies with Alphabet Inc’s YouTube for advertising revenue.
Advertisers are shifting more of their budgets from television to online as viewers have migrated to watching shows on smartphones and tablets.
On Watch, which Facebook began testing earlier this month, users can see hundreds of shows from the likes of Vox, Buzzfeed, Discovery Communications Inc, A&E Networks, Walt Disney Co’s ABC, as well as live sports like Major League Baseball.
Americans spend more than 73 minutes a day watching digital video, up more than seven per cent from last year, according to eMarketer data.
TV watching has dropped 2 percent from last year to 244 minutes a day, a trend that is expected to continue.
Facebook is initially paying some content creators for shows to drive interest.
The company is paying 10,000-35,000 dollars for shorter form shows and up to 250,000 dollars for longer shows, sources told Media in May.
The company declined to comment on how much it was spending on shows.
Facebook does not intend to make buying content a core piece of its strategy, Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships at Facebook, told Media.
“We are not focused on acquiring exclusive rights,” he said. “The idea is to seed this with good content.”
Facebook plans to eventually open the platform to everyone to submit shows for approval and share 55 percent of ad revenue, Rose said. (Reuters/NAN)
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