Facebook is getting serious about live streaming video. The social network is in the midst of a big transformation after gradually introducing video features to its platform.
First, Facebook launched a video upload feature to users, meaning they could upload videos directly onto Facebook, instead of posting the videos to YouTube and then posting only a link on Facebook. Then, Facebook introduced its autoplay feature, which sees videos start as soon as the user scrolls to it in the newsfeed; Facebook began a content program with a select group of publishers that were tapped to create exclusive videos for Facebook and monetize it with advertising; and finally, Facebook has rolled out a live streaming video feature that, once populated with the right content, will see Facebook becoming the next major Web and mobile destination for exclusive video content.
Facebook is now looking for content partners – both individuals such as celebrities, and premium content owners, such as networks and sports leagues – to create live programming that Facebook hopes will see users glued to their smartphones.
The NFL is looking for a Web partner to sell streaming rights to its “Thursday Night Football” games, and Facebook has confirmed it’s one of the interested parties; other bidders are rumored to include CBS, Verizon and Yahoo.
The opportunities for new ways Facebook might distribute content are seemingly boundless: beside live Web broadcasts of the game, Facebook could partner with analysts for pre- and post-game coverage through its live feature; and NFL players could even create content from the locker room, for example, to Web-air on their personal Facebook fan pages. The gritty, personal, behind-the scenes content that fans love would be a huge boon to Facebook and a big problem for traditional broadcasters that simply can’t replicate that type of Periscope-like experience on the TV set.
Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are already experimenting with daily live broadcasts. Teams such as the San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers are offering fans insider footage of the teams as they practice during spring training.
“Our message to the industry, to the folks we partner with, is you now have a production studio in your pocket – and a way to reach an audience that’s new and different,” Facebook VP of partnerships, Dan Rose, told Variety this week. “It’s unscripted, it’s authentic and it’s interactive.”
Celebrities are already using the live feature to connect with fans. During the Academy Awards show last month, host Chris Rock live streamed a quick message before going onstage; Kevin Hart and Whoopi Goldberg also used the feature to stream personal broadcasts during the event. Comedian Jimmy Fallon has used the feature for a quick, pre- “The Tonight Show” web broadcast.
Facebook will flesh out its revenue-sharing agreements with programmers for its live feature once it begins streaming live video more regularly, and will consequently introduce advertising to the feature, and perhaps even subscriptions. If Facebook can get big name content creators to broadcast directly to fans on its social network, it could quickly become one of the biggest eyeball-drawing Websites in the world, rivaling YouTube as the preeminent global broadcasting network.
This first ran in Rider Research’s Online Reporter.