Facebook welcomes video service called Watch

PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook launched its Watch video service in the United States on Thursday, August 31 as it vies with YouTube for video advertising revenue, ZDNet report.

Watch, which began testing earlier this month, allows users to find TV shows based on what their friends are watching, and have conversations with other people watching the show during an episode.

The service will include content from Vox, Buzzfeed, Discovery Communications, A&E Networks, and Walt Disney's ABC, as well as live sports such as Major League Baseball.

The social media giant will also initially pay content creators for shows to drive interest. Shorter-form shows will be paid between $10,000 to $35,000, while longer shows could make up to $250,000, sources told Reuters in May.

Facebook will eventually open the platform to everyone to submit shows.

Content partners will earn 55 percent of ad revenue, while Facebook will take the remainder. The company is now testing how ads will work within the shows, according to Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships at Facebook.

Americans spend more than 73 minutes a day watching digital video, according to eMarketer, up more than 7 percent from last year. TV watching, on the other hand, dropped 2 percent from last year, and is expected to continue falling.