Facebook is collaborating with companies already producing tons of video on their respective social platforms, such as BuzzFeed and Vox Media.
According to Reuters, Facebook’s plan is to create original video series, which will feature long as well as short-form content with ad breaks. The intention is to encourage more people to spend more time inside its universe.
There will be 2 types of video entertainment: scripted shows with episodes running between 20 to 30 minutes and unscripted shows with episodes lasting between 5 to 10 minutes. The social media giant will apparently own the longer episodes but not the shorter clips.
“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. 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 CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously said.
Besides BuzzFeed and Vox, the deal also include ATTN and Group Nine Media (known for Thrillist, NowThis, and The Dodo) as partners. This move will put Facebook in head-to-head competition with YouTube and Snapchat, as well as other television networks.
