Over 75 Million People Visit Facebook Watch Daily, Spending an Average of 20+ Minutes
The social network’s video destination is now available on desktop, Facebook Lite
Who is watching Facebook Watch? Over 400 million people spend at least one minute on the social network’s video platform each month, with more than 75 million people doing so each day, Facebook revealed.
Those 75 million daily visitors spend an average of more than 20 minutes on Facebook Watch, according to the social network.
Facebook Watch was made available globally on mobile in August, and Thursday, head of video Fidji Simo announced that the video destination is now available globally via desktop and the social network’s lightweight Facebook Lite Android application, as well.
Saying that the Facebook Watch experience can feel different depending on whether people discover videos via the Watch portal, News Feed, search, pages or other means, Simo added that Facebook will test a new darker background for people viewing Facebook Live fare on mobile, “unifying these different viewing experiences under one.”
On the advertising side, Facebook rolled out Ad Breaks for Facebook Watch in five countries in August, and the monetization option is now available to eligible pages in 40 countries, Simo revealed.
She added that Facebook will test new placements for Ad Breaks, such as in livestreams from gaming creators.
Facebook also intends to bring Brand Collabs Manager—its tool to match up brands and creators—to more countries, as well as to expand its test of fan subscriptions.
The social network introduced an In-Stream Reserve option in September—ensuring placement in videos “from a selection of the most engaging, highest-quality publishers and creators,” bought in advance and delivered to in-target audiences that are verified by Nielsen—and Simo said it will provide advertisers with more choices along those lines in 2019 to help tailor their video ad campaigns.
She added, “Since the beginning, we’ve been focused on making Watch a place where all creators and publishers can find an audience and build a community of passionate fans—and, important, earn money for their work. We know that building a sustainable ecosystem for video creators is the best way to bring great content to the platform, and this was our goal with opening Watch to all pages and rolling out Ad Breaks.”
As far as content, Simo announced four Facebook Originals that will be renewed for second seasons on Facebook Watch: Huda Boss, Five Points, Sacred Lies and Sorry for Your Loss.
She wrote, “We know that in the age of ‘peak TV,’ simply being entertaining or having high production values isn’t good enough. A show needs to strike a chord in the broader cultural zeitgeist or serve a group of passionate people that want something they can’t get elsewhere. That ‘something’ could come in the form of a personal connection with the talent, or content that covers a niche subject matter. With shows on Facebook, those personal connections are possible, and those fan bases are often already well-formed and reachable on the platform. This is the lens we use when funding original series and the advice we give partners looking to create engaging content.”
Finally, the social network shared some highlights from the past year on Facebook Watch:
- Most followed show and most active Facebook group: Red Table Talk
- Most loyal fans: Sorry for Your Loss
- Show with the most comments: Confetti
- Most viewed episode: Returning the Favor, Operation Combat Bikesaver
