According to a report, social media company Facebook is planning on entering the television market in June. With plans for launching their TV network already pushed back once, it will be interesting to see if they will hit their June goal. Meanwhile, video-sharing site and rival YouTube has also announced similar plans.
Facebook TV
According to a report from Business Insider, multiple sources have told them that Facebook is planning on entering the TV market. The company is developing about 24 shows, with the goal to start premiering them in the middle of June.
Supposedly, Facebook will have two separate tiers of shows on offer.
There will be a small amount of prestige shows, in the same vein as Netflix's "House of Cards," HBO's "Game of Thrones," and Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," that will be on offer. Then there will be shorter 5-to-10 minute YouTube-like shows, which can be added to the video tab daily on Facebook's app.
Also in the Business Insider report, one of the shows is being done by mass media company Conde Naste. It will be a virtual reality dating show. The report also says that "A-list celebrities" are in talks with Facebook to appear in shows, with one already having agreed to a deal.
This February, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the company's Q4 earnings call that he wanted users to come to the site for "episodic content." This is a major growth opportunity for the company to make money from TV advertising, as the site's News Feed is running out of space to show more ads.
YouTube has similar plans
The report of Facebook's plans comes a day after rival YouTube made a similar announcement during their presentation at annual marketing conference Digitas NewFronts. It was there that the company said that they will premiere a new tier of free, ad-supported TV this year. It will be separate from their recent YouTube Red, which is centered around YouTube creators and is subscription-based.
In contrast to YouTube Red, this new service will be featuring a number of celebrities during their own shows for the site. Kevin Hart's show 'Kevin Hart: What the Fit?' will be a workout-focused show that will launch on his channel, Laugh Out Loud Network. Ellen DeGeneres' show will give a behind the scenes look at how "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" is made.
Demi Lovato and Katy Perry also announced a behind the scenes show, while Ryan Seacrest will be producing a music competition show called "Best.Cover.Ever." Not forgetting about their homegrown talent, YouTube creators Rhett & Link and The Slow Mo Guys will also get their own shows. YouTube wants to produce over 40 new shows using this format over the next year.
