Facebook has kicked its push for TV-like shows into high gear and is aiming to premiere its first slate of programming in mid-June.
Facebook plans to have roughly two-dozen shows for this initial push and has greenlit multiple shows for production, according to people familiar with the discussions. They said that the social network has been looking for shows in two distinct tiers: a marquee tier for a few longer, big-budget shows that would feel at home on TV, and a lower tier for shorter, less expensive shows of around 5-10 minutes in length that refreshes every 24 hours.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in February that he wanted users to come to the service for “episodic content.” It’s part of a major initiative at the company to begin siphoning away some of the billions of dollars that are spent on television advertising ever year — a major growth opportunity for Facebook, which is running out of room in the News Feed to show more ads.
A virtual reality dating show from Condé Nast is among the shows that Facebook has greenlit. “A-list celebrities” are in talks to appear in other shows, according to the report, and one big (anonymous) star has already agreed to a deal.
The news comes a day after YouTube said it would premiere its own tier of free, ad-supported television during a presentation at NewFronts. Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Kevin Hart, and Ellen Degeneres are among the stars that have agreed to make new shows for YouTube.
Facebook released a standalone video app for the Apple TV and other set-top boxes in March that could presumably also be used to feature its original shows, the people said.
"The goal is going to be creating some anchor content initially that helps people learn that going to the video tab that that's a great destination where they can explore and come to Facebook with the intent to watch the videos that they want," Zuckerberg said during Facebook's last earnings call with investors. "And then the long-term goal is actually not to be paying for specific content like that, but doing a revenue share model once the whole economy around video on Facebook is built up."
Facebook plans to have roughly two-dozen shows for this initial push and has greenlit multiple shows for production, according to people familiar with the discussions. They said that the social network has been looking for shows in two distinct tiers: a marquee tier for a few longer, big-budget shows that would feel at home on TV, and a lower tier for shorter, less expensive shows of around 5-10 minutes in length that refreshes every 24 hours.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in February that he wanted users to come to the service for “episodic content.” It’s part of a major initiative at the company to begin siphoning away some of the billions of dollars that are spent on television advertising ever year — a major growth opportunity for Facebook, which is running out of room in the News Feed to show more ads.
A virtual reality dating show from Condé Nast is among the shows that Facebook has greenlit. “A-list celebrities” are in talks to appear in other shows, according to the report, and one big (anonymous) star has already agreed to a deal.
The news comes a day after YouTube said it would premiere its own tier of free, ad-supported television during a presentation at NewFronts. Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Kevin Hart, and Ellen Degeneres are among the stars that have agreed to make new shows for YouTube.
Facebook released a standalone video app for the Apple TV and other set-top boxes in March that could presumably also be used to feature its original shows, the people said.
"The goal is going to be creating some anchor content initially that helps people learn that going to the video tab that that's a great destination where they can explore and come to Facebook with the intent to watch the videos that they want," Zuckerberg said during Facebook's last earnings call with investors. "And then the long-term goal is actually not to be paying for specific content like that, but doing a revenue share model once the whole economy around video on Facebook is built up."
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