Facebook has announced the launch of its new video platform known as Watch. The video service will be available to a limited group of people in the US and the company plans to bring the experience to more people soon. Further, the social media giant will be opening up Shows to a limited group of creators and plan to roll out to all soon.
Watch will be available on mobile, desktop and on Facebook’s TV App and it will have different video sections like 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.
Coming to the Shows that will be showcased on the video platforms are Kitchen Little by Tastemade, which is a funny show about kids who watch a how-to video of a recipe, then instruct professional chefs on how to make it. Each episode features a new child, a new chef, and a new recipe. Then there is Returning the Favour, a series hosted by Mike Rowe where he finds people doing something extraordinary for their community, tell the world about it, and in turn, does something extraordinary for them. Apart from this, there will live events such Major League Baseball, live shows of Gabby Bernstein and a daily show like Nas Daily.
The launch of the new video platform is line with company’s ambitious plan to take a head-to-head competition with streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos or even Google-owned YouTube Red. This also means that the company is planning to enter the video first business and want to monetize it through generating more video ad-based revenues. However, it would be interesting to see whether this new video service will be able to give a stiff competition to other streaming giants.