\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/2243c_facebook-watch-tab1.png?w=640&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Facebook has a new home for original video content produced exclusively for it by partners, who will earn 55 percent of ad break revenue while Facebook keeps 45 percent. The \u201cWatch\u201d tab and several dozen original shows will start rolling out <\/a> to a small group of U.S. users tomorrow on mobile, desktop and Facebook\u2019s TV apps.<\/p>\n By hosting original programming, Facebook could boost ad revenue and give people a reason to frequently return to the News Feed for content they can\u2019t get anywhere else.<\/p>\n Watch features personalized recommendations of live and recorded shows to watch, plus categories like \u201cMost Talked About,\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s Making People Laugh\u201d and \u201cShows Your Friends Are Watching.\u201d Publishers can also share their shows to the News Feed to help people discover them. A Watchlist feature lets you subscribe to updates on new episodes of your favorite shows. Fans can connect with each other and creators through a new feature that links shows to Groups.<\/p>\n Facebook says it plans to roll out access to Watch to more users and more content creators soon, starting with the rest of the U.S. before expanding internationally. Users with access will see a TV-shaped Watch button in the bottom navigation bar of Facebook\u2019s main app that opens the new video hub.<\/p>\n Facebook admits that \u201cwe\u2019ve also funded some shows\u201d as examples, but notes that these are only a small percentage of all the available shows. \u201cWe want any publisher\/creator who is interested to be able to create a show in the future,\u201d a Facebook spokesperson tells me. \u201cSo there will be hundreds of shows at launch, and we\u2019ll hopefully scale to thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n Business Insider<\/a> reported some leaked details about the redesign earlier today, but pegged the launch of original programming as starting August 28th, when the shows actually will begin to roll out tomorrow.<\/p>\n Facebook\u2019s shows will run the gamut from live event coverage to reality TV to scripted programs. \u00a0\u201cMore and more people are coming to Facebook in order to watch video\u201d Facebook\u2019s director of video product Daniel Danker tells me. \u201cWhen they come with that in mind, we want to make a place for them where they can find that video, connect with the creators and publishers they love, and know they won\u2019t miss out if there\u2019s a new episode from one of those creators.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a list of some of the original programming that will be available on Watch:<\/p>\n What\u2019s clearly absent is the type of longer-form scripted dramas and comedies people are used to watching on television. Instead, there are plenty of mini-documentaries, reality shows, and sports coverage.<\/p>\n When you open Watch, you\u2019ll be able to scroll through a long list of categories of shows to view. Alternatively, you can either swipe over or arrive from a notification about a new episode to view the Watchlist of all the lastest shows released by creators you follow. Once you\u2019ve opened an episode you\u2019ll see all the details about it, with one tab for joining a live comment reel with other viewers, and an \u201cUp Next\u201d tab displaying what you\u2019ll view after the current episode if you prefer a glazed-eyes lean-back experience.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no specific content restrictions on swearing or violence beyond Facebook\u2019s existing community standards, but Facebook will monitor for shows that get flagged.<\/p>\n Publishers can choose to insert ad breaks if they want to earn money off their shows, though the guidelines on where and how long they can be are still being finalized. If publishers want to give away their content, they don\u2019t have to show ads. Another option is to do product placed or branded content, in which case the creator has to tag the sponsor paying them for transparency. Shows will have their own dedicated Facebook Pages<\/a>, and creators can set up special show Groups where fans can ask questions and geek out together.<\/p>\n Beyond the Watch tab, you can also discover shows through the News Feed if a publisher you follow posts an episode or friends are talking about it. That gives Facebook the opportunity to artificially boost the presence of shows in News Feed to build a bigger audience for the new content initiative.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/2243c_facebook-watch-tab-redesign.png?resize=640%2C425&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nWhat Facebook\u2019s First Shows Look Like<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/2243c_facebook-show-pages.jpg?resize=385%2C680&ssl=1\")
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg writes<\/a> that \u201cWe believe it\u2019s possible to rethink a lot of experiences through the lens of building community \u2014 including watching video. Watching a show doesn\u2019t have to be passive . . .\u00a0You\u2019ll be able to chat and connect with people during an episode, and join groups with people who like the same shows afterwards to build community.\u201d<\/p>\nEvolving From Spontaneous To Deliberate Viewing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/2243c_facebok-watch-shows.png?resize=331%2C680&ssl=1\")
Facebook first launched its dedicated video tab<\/a> in April 2016, but it only hosted the more generic News Feed videos people were already seeing from Pages and friends. Now Facebook is in the business of funding original content, initially through direct payments, though it seeks to switch entirely to a revenue-share model in the future to make its original programming effort sustainable.<\/p>\n