Facebook rolled out its brand new video platform, ‘Watch’ to select users. Watch will showcase original programs supported by Facebook and also videos from original or independent film creators. The videos will be featured in a section that will be personalized based on the user’s preferences. The new tab will be available on Facebook Apps for iOS, Android, web, and television.
Currently the shows on air include NAS Daily where the creator posts daily VLOGs for a global audience. It also features shows from Gabby Bernstein & Kitchen Little. Facebook has also reached an understanding with Major League Baseball to stream one live game every week.
If all goes well, this could be a game changer for Facebook in terms of generating revenue. Facebook has created an Audience Network where content creators can generate revenue through ads.
Here is the video where Facebook introduced 'WATCH'
Till now the video tab was a jumbled up list of videos from content creators that you follow. Watch will put more structure in how videos are shown to a user. The new categories will include “what friends are watching”, “what’s making people laugh” and “most talked about”. Watch also has a category for videos which are longer than 10 minutes. You can create a watch list where you can add videos that you wish to watch later.
Facebook is betting on the communal viewing aspect of Watch. It believes Watch is different from other services because it enables you and your friends to discover content and watch together. Videos are a great means to connect and bring the community together. Facebook is stressing on the point that this new feature is organized around “friends and communities”.
Currently the Watch feature has been rolled out to only a few content creators and will be rolled out globally in a short while. Currently there are dozens of shows to watch but once it’s open globally, the space is going to explode and it will have thousands of creators contributing content.
This brings us to the important question of whether Facebook will succeed with Watch? It’s too early to underestimate Facebook. While Netflix, Amazon, HULU & YouTube have gained a lot of space in video content, Facebook has a lot to catch up. But given the fact that it’s a 2 billion strong community, it won’t be very difficult for the cash rich Facebook to make Watch a success. It also has the backing of big publishers and media houses. Also, Facebook has a great product team which iteratively works on the features to increase their addictiveness.
It’s too early to bet big on Facebook or to completely underestimate its potential. Watch is a new feature that could evolve into a great asset and mark Facebook’s entry into video content.
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