There will soon be one more streaming option for consumers.
Facebook is already on a lot of folks' daily internet stops to get their fill of memes and cat photos for the day. Soon, there will be one more reason to stop in. The company announced its Watch platform, and is hopeful that a staple of original programming will entice viewers.
The programming will be available to view on mobile devices, desktop and laptops and smart TVs — though Facebook didn't specify platforms at launch. Like YouTube, users can subscribe to their favorite channels on what's called a Watchlist (see what they did there?).
Facebook says:
We're introducing Watch, a new platform for shows on Facebook. Watch will be available on mobile, on desktop and laptop, and in our TV apps. Shows are made up of episodes — live or recorded — and follow a theme or storyline. To help you keep up with the shows you follow, Watch has a Watchlist so you never miss out on the latest episodes.
Watch is personalized to help you discover new shows, organized around what your friends and communities are watching. For example, you'll find sections like "Most Talked About," which highlights shows that spark conversation, "What's Making People Laugh," which includes shows where many people have used the "Haha" reaction, and "What Friends Are Watching," which helps you connect with friends about shows they too are following.
We've learned from Facebook Live that people's comments and reactions to a video are often as much a part of the experience as the video itself. So when you watch a show, you can see comments and connect with friends and other viewers while watching, or participate in a dedicated Facebook Group for the show.
It seems like Watch shows will blur the line between a live stream and a recorded program, which could make for interesting results. Having seen a few too many YouTube comment sections get out of hand, I'm curious to see Facebook will handle the inevitable moderation issues that come with hosting content.
Watch is set to launch with 40 original shows on August 28th. Are you going to tune in? Let us know in the comments below!
Reader comments
Facebook is going after YouTube with its new 'Watch' video streaming service
Facebook biggest issue in their video service that is only made for advertisers and normal fb users. Not a single one content creator can get any money out from Facebook and the rest just steal content from YouTube or other video services. YouTube and Twitch allows users to make money with created content facebook "live" will never allow this opportunity and their video quality is horrible not even close to 720p quality
Looks like YouTube's days as the king of video is coming to an end. Facebook has the reach here
I seriously highly doubt it.
No
Thanks for the laugh.
Lol. You're hilarious. Facebook has so many ads and spam flowing through it it's horrendous.
Watching videos on Facebook is convenient if you're already on Facebook and you scroll by something interesting but I'm all about quality when it comes to something I subscribe to and Facebook doesn't bring that. The orientation hasn't even been working right for months on my 6P. When I hit the full screen button it automatically goes into landscape without me even rotating my phone and when I rotate my phone it goes back to portrait mode. Very annoying.
LoL best of luck to ya
Lol, nothing is f*****g with YouTube
FB video streaming quality has sucked. Even live vids are spotty at best. If they want to even be a spec of competition to Youtube's dominance, they need to shore up their infrastructure first.
Pretty weird, considering FB videos are bad in general, the quality is horrible, they stutter a lot and content creators can't profit from their videos.
Worst videos to watch with pc are those mobile versio that are box with up and under tittle text
YouTube has now broke 1 billion hours viewed a day on average and grew 100% YoY. FB is the next biggest for video and 1/10 the size of YouTube but growing slower. Does not sound like the YouTube is losing any sleep ;).
Facebook, this is not how you attract people after the Youtube adpocalypse. No, judging by what I've read so fay, you cannot provide adequate video content platform with Watch, and there is no use for any other of your recent inventions like load time counters.
https://droidinformer.org/Stories/facebooks-new-watch-tab-shows-original...
https://droidinformer.org/Stories/facebooks-new-watch-tab-shows-original...
The problem with facebook is that its strategy is both reactionary and not informed enough. Their updating and diversifying processes are way too slow.