Facebook is the latest site to jump on the bandwagon of ‘original video content’ and will be rolling out a number of shows to a small group of U.S. users via desktop, mobile and Facebook TV apps some time in the next few days.
This content will be paid for exclusively by the company’s partners who will earn 55% of ad break revenue with Facebook keeping the remaining 45%. With this move, the social media site aims to boost ad revenue and encourage users to return to the News Feed for content that they are unable to access anywhere else.
Watch will feature personalized recommendations about live and recorded shows as well as categories that show what’s popular and what your friends are watching. Content publishers will also be able to share their shows to the News Feed for further exposure. Additionally, a Watchlist feature will let you subscribe so that you never miss out on new episodes of your shows.
The site hopes to roll out access to Watch for more users very soon but will start with the U.S. before international expansion. Facebook also admitted that they directly funded some shows as examples but that they “want any publisher/creator who is interested to be able to create a show in the future.”
Here’s a list of some of the original programming that will be available on Watch (via Techcrunch):
- Tastemade’s Kitchen Little – This cooking show sees kids watch a how-to recipe video, then instruct a pro chef how to make the dish with comedic results
- Major League Baseball – The MLB will broadcast one game a week live on Facebook
- Major League Baseball “12:25 Live” – A comedic look at baseball with help from the fans
- Mike Rowe – Rowe finds people who’ve done great things for their community and gives them a special experience in return
- Nas Daily – Vlogger Nas (Correction: Not the rapper) makes videos with his biggest friends each day
- Gabby Bernstein – Motivational speaker and author answers fans’ life questions in live and recorded segments
- A&E’s “Bae or Bail:” – Reality TV game show where couples face their fears and see who runs
- All Def Digital’s “Inside the Office” – A look inside the office life at Russel Simmons’ hip-hop media empire
- Billboard’s “How it Went Down” – A documentary series of musicians sharing crazy stories
- David Lopez’s “My Social Media Life” – A reality show about the social media star’s life
- Golden State Warriors’ “Championship Rewind” – A behind-the-scenes look at the Bay Area’s NBA championship 2016-2017 season
- Univision Deportes’ “Liga MX” – Live coverage of LigaMX soccer matches
- National Geographic’s “We’re Wired that Way:” – Mini-documentaries about weird quirks of humanity like songs you can’t get out of your head
- National Geographic’s “Safari Live” – Watch live safaris led by National Geographic’s guides
- NASA’s “Science @ NASA” – Explore science topics in quick four to five-minute episodes
- NBA’s “WNBA All-Access” – A behind the scenes show with women’s basketball stars
- The Dodo’s “Comeback Kids: Animal Edition” features determined animals facing difficult conditions or challenges meet people who refuse to give up on them.
- Tommy Mac – A master woodworker gives live tutorials on how to make furniture