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ESPN will make exclusive shows for Facebook Watch
ESPN will broadcast exclusive shows and segments on Facebook Watch under a new deal. First up are bonus segments from Always Late With Katie Nolan, an ESPN+ sports/comedy show that'll debut on ESPN2 this week, along with The People's MMA Show, a weekly series focused on the lives of mixed martial arts fighters. There'll also be a version of the Countdown to GameDay pre-game show for College GameDay and a video version of Fantasy Focus Live.
Facebook will only stream six MLB games this season
Facebook will broadcast live Major League Baseball games once again this season. However, it will offer far fewer games than last year. Under the latest one-year deal, Facebook will stream six non-exclusive games on Watch, one per month during the regular season. That's a big step down from the 25 exclusive games Facebook aired last year.
Facebook Watch is reportedly slashing its news programming
Facebook will only renew about a third of the 21 news shows on its viewing platform Facebook Watch, Digiday reports. In an attempt to maximize its $90 million news budget, Facebook Watch is changing its partnership model and taking a TV network approach by canceling shows that aren't bringing in enough viewers.
Facebook might cut funding for some Watch news shows
Facebook plans to cut the funding for some news shows on the Watch platform, according to The Information. The social media just renewed four Watch originals and recently brought the tab to desktop and its stripped-down Lite app, signifying that it's doing quite well. However, it also announced that it's expanding the Watch video service worldwide, and that could mean the company needs to produce overseas news shows catering to more countries. In fact, The Information says Facebook's spending will remain the same ($90 million), but it will distribute the money to a broader array of programs.
Facebook renews 'Sorry for Your Loss' and three more Watch originals
Facebook is renewing four of the most popular original shows available on its Watch video hub for a second season. They include the social network's biggest stab at creating a peak TV series in the Elizabeth Olsen-starring drama, Sorry for Your Loss; the teen show filmed from different perspectives and exec-produced by Kerry Washington, Five Points; a reality series starring makeup artist Huda Kattan, Huda Boss; and a young adult lit adaptation from horror maestros Blumhouse Productions, Sacred Lies.
'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comes to Facebook Watch
Starting today, you can give in to your nostalgia and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly on Facebook Watch. The show comes to the social network as part of a deal with 20th Century Fox. Every episode of the classic programs from Joss Whedon will be made available for you to stream, including as part of Facebook's recently announce Watch Party feature.
Facebook and MTV are revamping 'The Real World'
Facebook's big push into original video content is only getting stronger. Less than two months after the worldwide launch of its Watch streaming service, which is also trying to lure in independent creators, the company is making some major show announcements. For starters, Facebook is now teaming up with MTV on a "reimagined" version of the popular reality series The Real World, which will have an interactive, social component that'll let viewers vote one housemate onto the show before it airs. The new seasons of The Real World, set to debut exclusively on Facebook Watch in 2019, will be produced in Mexico, Thailand and, of course, the United States.
Facebook's 'Limetown' is a mystery series starring Jessica Biel
Facebook has announced another original headed by a big-name female star for its Watch section lineup. The social network has put in a 10-episode order for Limetown, a mystery series starring and executive produced by Jessica Biel, who earned an Emmy nomination this year for Netflix's The Sinner. Facebook recently released Elizabeth Olsen's grief-themed dramedy Sorry for Your Loss and is currently working on Catherine Zeta-Jones' dark comedy Queen America.
The BBC will host the first non-US news show on Facebook Watch
After launching its news section in June, Facebook Watch has its first non-US show. BBC News' has unveiled a weekly news show for the fledgling video channel called Cut Through the Noise, Variety reports. The show, specifically aimed at mobile users with the use of vertical video, will run weekly and report on various issues from Washington, DC and elsewhere.
Facebook rolls out its Watch video service worldwide
Facebook launched Watch last year in the US as a platform for episodic TV content, and now it's going international. The social media company announced that the VOD service will be "available everywhere" as of now, giving creators around the world an alternative to YouTube. "We are supporting publishers and creators globally in two critical areas: helping them to make money from their videos on Facebook and better understand how their content is performing," said Facebook in a statement.
Facebook's 'shared viewing' video feature is coming to all groups
Facebook has made it clear that it wants to make video a crucial part of its business, as it looks to compete with the likes of YouTube, Amazon and Netflix. And, over the past few months, the company's been making changes to help it get there, launching new features aimed at making videos more social. One of those is Watch Party, an experimental tool introduced in January that lets members of Facebook groups watch videos together and simultaneously. That shared watching experience, which works with both live and pre-recorded videos, was only available to select users when it was first announced, but now Facebook is bringing it to every group worldwide.
Facebook's breaking news video push begins next week
Facebook has been cutting back on breaking news in your News Feed, but the plan has been to replace it with a dedicated section of its Watch tab. The solution, in Facebook's eyes, was to pay reputable news networks for exclusive content. Now, the social network has announced that programming will kick off next week, beginning with the premiere of Fox News Update from Fox News on Monday, July 16th.
Facebook reportedly in talks for a Cristiano Ronaldo reality show
News emerged back in May that global football sensation (and model, and philanthropist, and...) Cristiano Ronaldo was working on a scripted drama for Facebook Watch about an all-girls soccer team in upstate New York. But the social media giant might not be done with the living legend. According to Variety, he's in talks with Facebook for a 13-episode reality show.
Facebook is the only place to watch LaVar Ball’s basketball league
LaVar Ball and his Big Baller Brand extend their relationship with Facebook today as the social media giant will exclusively air the first game of Ball's Junior Basketball Association tonight, as well as every game going forward. Throughout the season, every league game will stream on both Facebook Watch and the Junior Basketball Association's Facebook Page. The first game will pit the Atlanta Ballers against the Chicago Ballers at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario tonight while New York will take on Los Angeles -- and LaMelo Ball -- after the first game wraps up.
Facebook will air live PGA Tour coverage on its Watch tab
One of the ways that Facebook has been highlighting its Watch tab is through exclusive streaming deals with sports leagues. Now, the PGA Tour joins the roster of sports that will air coverage on Facebook exclusively. Live competition coverage of eight tournaments in the 2018–2019 season will stream exclusively on Facebook.
Facebook will stream some Big3 basketball games this season
Fans of Big3 will get to watch nine games for free this season as Fox Sports announced today that one game per each regular season week will air exclusively on Facebook Watch. Every week, one game will stream on Facebook and then three additional games will air on FOX or FS1. "As a start-up professional sports league, we have an innate flexibility that allows us to adapt and cater to our growing audience," co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz said in a statement. "Given that our fans had an average age of more than 10 years younger than typical basketball fans, we want to provide digital viewing experiences so they can engage with our league in a format that best suits their viewing preferences."
Cristiano Ronaldo is working on a teen soccer series for Facebook
Christiano Ronaldo is a massive soccer star, a model, a philanthropist and an entrepreneur. He's been involved with a fair share of tech products over the last few years, including a muscle-stimulation device, a line of Monster-branded headphones (Roc Live life Loud) and a ZTE smartphone. Now the sports superstar is moving into media, with a new scripted drama series about a small-town girls soccer team in upstate New York for Facebook Watch.
Facebook's new dark comedy show will star Catherine Zeta-Jones
Facebook might be busy winning the augmented reality war and dealing with the trail of destruction the Cambridge Analytica scandal left in its wake, but it hasn't forgotten its original programming efforts. As part of its continued push to promote the Watch tab, the social network has ordered 10 one-hour episodes of a dark comedy entitled Queen America. It will star Catherine Zeta-Jones as Vicki Ellis, Tulsa, Oklahoma's ruthless but most in-demand pageant coach, who now has to make sure an unpolished contender becomes a shoo-in for Miss America.
Viacom launches studio dedicated to shows for YouTube and Facebook
Viacom has come a long, long way from the days when online video was seemingly its mortal enemy. The media giant has formally launched Digital Studios, a wing dedicated to (you guessed it) original internet shows. The initial programs in the works are all attached to familiar names like BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon, and will be available across services like Facebook Watch, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube -- it won't just involve the previously unveiled Snapchat plans.
Netflix’s real advantage is that it’s a tech company first
Netflix hasn't been coy about its plans to take over Hollywood. The company has already said it could spend up to $8 billion on content this year alone. But, for all the awards House of Cards and Icarus rack up, one of the reasons Netflix has tasted success so rapidly is its streaming technology. That's an area it has been perfecting in-house since 2010, when it became more than a simple mail-order DVD rental shop.
