Facebook has announced a new platform for watching shows. The service is called Watch and will be available on the desktop, mobile, and on the Facebook TV apps. Facebook hopes that content creators will be able to use Watch in order to find an audience and build a community oriented around their content, while making money for their efforts.
In its announcement, Facebook said:
“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.”
It looks as though Facebook Watch will be quite similar to YouTube in terms of the content that will be shown, as opposed to something like Netflix – focusing less on hit TV shows and movies. Facebook puts Watch across as an extension of the Video tab that previously launched in the US, which offered a place to find videos easily on Facebook; with Watch, Facebook wants to make it easier for users to consume video content.
Some other examples of content that Watch will provide include shows that engage fans and the community, live shows where hosts can directly interact with fans through Facebook, shows that follow a narrative arc or have a consistent theme, and live events such as sports.
Watch will be introduced to a limited group of people in the United States and will slowly become available to more people. Additionally, the company will open up the platform to a limited group of creators and will then roll it out to all soon after.