Facebook launches online video viewing platform, free football broadcasting?
On August 29, social networking site Facebook announced that it is deploying its online video viewing platform Watch globally, after launching and operating in the US for more than a year.
Facebook launched its Watch platform as users are shifting their viewing habits from traditional TV to online apps like Netflix and Hulu, not to mention a growing number of people watching through professional and consumer platforms like YouTube.
Facebook is ramping up its video offerings, and this week the site announced new formats including interactive games, quizzes and polls.
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| Facebook launches Watch video streaming platform to broadcast free football matches from Spain's La Liga |
The launch of its Watch streaming platform comes two weeks after Facebook revealed it would broadcast Spanish La Liga football matches for free in the Indian subcontinent, as well as Champions League matches in Latin America.
According to Ms. Fidji Simo, Vice President of Video at Facebook, the content that Facebook sponsors is only a very small part of the content available on Watch. Facebook also hopes that user-created video products will become the main factor attracting online video viewers.
According to Simo, Facebook has spent a lot of time developing tools for video creators to integrate their own ads. Facebook has always believed that making money helps stimulate creativity.
Like Amazon, Youtube, and Netflix, Facebook has entered the world of online video, launching its Watch video platform in the US in August 2017.
Facebook Watch, which features a wide range of videos, from documentaries to live sporting events, is monetized through advertising, with 55% of revenue going to production partners and 45% to Facebook.
Due to the huge demand for online video viewing, Facebook has made efforts to create a different Watch platform, in which the original video content viewed through Watch is exclusive, cannot be viewed on other platforms, and because it makes money through advertising, even though it is free to watch, users are forced to log in to their accounts.
