Facebook introduced video destination Facebook Watch in August 2017 and took it global one year later, and the social network said last week that over 1.25 billion people are visiting Facebook Watch every month.
Head of video products Paresh Rajwat said in a blog post that enhancements to the platform have included better navigation, content curation by experts and smarter machine learning to make it easier for people to find content they are interested in.
A dedicated section for live videos was also added to Facebook Watch earlier this year, with over 13.7 million people viewing the UEFA Champions League final in August, making it the most-watched soccer broadcast on Facebook.
Music videos were also added for all users in India, Thailand and the U.S., and Katy Perry debuted the video for “Smile” exclusively on Facebook Watch.
On the media partner and content creator side, over the past few months, the social network rolled out paid online events on the platform and expanded the availability of monetization features fan subscriptions and Stars, as well as in-stream ads.
Facebook is also in the early stages of rolling out a new organic video post testing tool to enable creators and partners to A/B test aspects of posts, including thumbnails, titles, descriptions and video content, and better determine what works best for their audiences.
Following the success of a host of content partnerships in Europe, the Middle East and Africa that were introduced last year, several new partnerships were detailed last week.
- France: Facebook will continue its existing partnership with M6, and Brut will debut three new shows on the platform.
- Germany: ProSiebenSat.1 will provide clips from popular TV shows including The Masked Singer and The Voice of Germany, as well as archive clips from shows including Knallerfrauen.
- Italy: Ciaopeople will roll out three new shows for the platform.
- Middle East/North Africa: Facebook Watch will be the exclusive home to after-shows, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews supporting TV shows from MBC Group, while TVision will provide exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from shows including Saturday Night Live Arabia.
- Spain: New short-form show Discovering My Penthouse comes from 2btube.
- U.K.: Comedian Russell Kane will host the second season of Text Dating from LADbible.
Facebook director of entertainment partnerships for EMEA Louise Holmes wrote in a blog post, “Through the turbulence of Covid-19, the innovation from creative industries, committed to keeping people entertained—whether through a live performance, a hosted virtual event or free streamed access to theatrical, televised or cinematic classics—has been heartwarming, and continues to motivate us to come up with new methods of support. As we cross this milestone of 1.25 billion monthly viewers on Watch, we remain committed to collaborating closely with partners across the region and making it even easier for them to find success for their videos on Facebook.”
