
Introducing Watch, a new platform for shows on Facebook - drikerf
https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/08/introducing-watch-a-new-platform-for-shows-on-facebook/
======
shubhamjain
Is there any incentive that Facebook offers to create high-quality content?
Every dollar that Facebook makes through ads goes in its pocket. And I don't
see any keen interest from their side to create a revenue sharing program.
Even though only a few YouTubers might be making sustainable revenues, but at
least Google offers some motivation to continue creating.

For anyone publishing on Facebook, the cycle seems familiar: create a page,
gain followers, get popular, and get burned out when you realise that it's
difficult to make money from what you're doing. I remember when C&H started
publishing incomplete video clips to sway the audience towards their website
(where they have ads).

I admit that revenue attribution to content on Facebook is not as
straightforward as it's on Youtube, but Facebook should invest in making it
easier to monetize your content; otherwise, I don't think people would
motivated to create anything more than memes.

~~~
arosier
If you click through to the creator blog you will find: "Over time, creators
will be able to monetize their shows through Ad Breaks. We’ve been testing Ad
Breaks over the past few months, and we will be slowly opening up availability
to more creators to ensure we’re providing a good experience for the
community. Creators can also create sponsored shows using our branded content
tag."

[https://media.fb.com/2017/08/09/introducing-watch-and-
shows-...](https://media.fb.com/2017/08/09/introducing-watch-and-shows-on-
facebook/)

~~~
yladiz
I think this is a case where Facebook will do poorly. I'm not sure if there
are studies done on this, but it does feel nicer when I get a preroll ad or
something unobtrusive on YouTube (and of course no ads on Netflix) when
compared to the midroll ads on traditional tv or on certain YouTube videos
(it's so rare for me though that I thought I had accidentally clicked a
different video when a mid roll ad appeared on my phone). Doing 'ad breaks'
seems like it is a worse way to handle advertisement, because a user can just
go to a different tab and wait, and easily rewind if they accidentally miss
some content unlike on traditional tv where you can't just rewind and the
incentive to change the channel is less because you can't switch to something
like Hacker News on the tv and read a quick article or couple comments during
the ads.

------
chet177
The show must go on. No, the show must take over everything else we plan to do
with our lives so we can sit and Watch it. Hail, Watch. On a serious note, I
think any number of platforms for creators to create and promote their content
is great. I only hope they put out a good revenue sharing model in place once
the wheel starts to spin. Facebook is essentially hoping to keep all users
well within it's platform for anything video/photo/chat. But I'm afraid, all
it's efforts would wind up like the Messenger app. Not that it's bad, but
it'll never be a WhatsApp.

------
micael_dias
As much as I hate FB I have to admit they're very good at finding ways to keep
people on the platform. From the video in the post it seems Watch will provide
a better UX than YouTube, especially for comments.

~~~
erdle
Youtube's UX drives me crazy, especially on mobile. They really need to reach
this next level of responsive where the length of a video is considered just
as screen size has been in the past.

Tv.Youtube is a bit better... but I have faith they will step up as it
continues to dominate.

Did a poll of my little cousins at a wedding, they would all rather have a
Youtube Red subscription than Spotify or Netflix.

------
gexla
I'm guessing they don't need this to attract more users, rather it's probably
more of a defensive move. Add the functionality to keep other possible
platforms from coming out of nowhere. FB understands (as does Netflix, HBO,
etc) that high quality, exclusive content requires a big investment. I'm sure
they'll eventually go that route. Why not? They have the cash and they would
already be playing catch-up for a next logical step for a video platform. This
will probably be good for content creators. There are only so many superstars
that you can chase after. With Amazon, Google, FB and the old guard going
after the same pool, there may be some massive payouts going to people who can
deliver the hits.

Think of stand-up comedy. Louis CK might take a couple of years to build
content for a one hour show. How much would that be worth when you have each
of the tech giants bidding out for the rights to that show? Sure, he could get
writers, but that wouldn't be Lewis CK (it would be his personality, but not
his jokes) and it would have to be for a different type of show. After Lewis
CK, there aren't many comics who can draw the same numbers he can.

~~~
dkrich
I'll be interested to see where Netflix, HBO, and Amazon end up because right
now it seems like a race to the bottom. Netflix is spending billions (I
believe $8 billion this year) to create original content. Both Amazon and
Netflix want to add more and more premium content while lowering prices.
Channels or streaming services are now identified by the shows they have more
than the service itself (I'm going to pay for Netflix because I like House of
Cards and Stranger Things, HBO because I like Game of Thrones, etc.) Each is
only as good as their latest shows and content is increasingly becoming a
commodity. Whereas 20 years ago if NBC had a few flops and fell in the ratings
it hurt their ad revenue a bit but they still were piped into the same houses,
now if Netflix fails to put out hit shows, people will pay a competing service
instead.

------
maaaats
Wonder if this also will be full of freebooted/stolen content (as Videoes is
today), or actually genuine stuff?

~~~
kennydude
Probably freebooted content. They don't seem to care

------
dandare
The biggest problem I have with videos on Facebook is that specific video
posts are often impossible to find later and very difficult to share. A
trivial tasks like posting a funny video to a group chat I have with friends
can be sometimes very frustrating.

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lowglow
Ok. So I host Hack Days (shameless plug: We're at Noisebridge[0] every Sunday
-- come out!) and I live stream every weekend on FB (here:
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/sfhackdays/](https://www.facebook.com/groups/sfhackdays/))

My biggest gripe is cross platform streaming capabilities, stream quality, and
the lack of cooperation when we need distribution to increase viewership.

It's a bummer. I hope this is a solution to _any_ of those problems.

[0]
[https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Hack_Days](https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Hack_Days)

------
taspeotis
Off topic (apologies in advance, I know it's usually poor form for HN threads)
but are there any tools out there to analyse text and identify redundancies?
This sentence could have been omitted and I'd be just as well informed about
"Watch":

> Shows are made up of episodes - live or recorded - and follow a theme or
> storyline.

------
vit05
Everybody is going after the living room. Facebook, Youtube, Amazon, Netflix,
Disney... People spend 30% more time on youtube when the content is something
produced. And they prefer watching this type of shows on TV, with more people.
Advertisers love that.

