Facebook's Premium Video Section Will Arrive in Mid-August
Facebook's first efforts in premium video programming are almost here. According to Bloomberg, the social network will offer TV-style shows in a new video section in mid-August.
While this section will include user-generated content, as well, the highlight will be professional content. Facebook has commissioned several short-form series for the area, as well as long-form premium content. News broke in June that Facebook is bankrolling some of its lead-off programs with six-figure budgets. Premium video will include Last State Standing, a reality competition show, and Loosely Exactly Nicole, which continues a show that originally ran on MTV. These large-budget shows won't be available at the August launch, but the short-form commissioned series will. Facebook doesn't plan to fund premium shows going forward, but did so this time to jumpstart the area.
Facebook's goal with premium video is taking a share of the television industry's $70 billion ad market. Viewers won't be limited to computer viewing, as Facebook announced apps for a variety of connected TV devices—including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV—earlier this year.
Bloomberg reports the video area was originally scheduled to launch a month ago, but has been impacted by delays. Facebook currently has over 2 billion members.
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