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Twitter, Facebook and Paramount+ will stream WNBA games this summer
When the WNBA kicks off its historic 25th season on May 14th, fans will have plenty of chances to watch it unfold online.
Facebook adds official music videos to News Feed and Watch
Beginning today, Facebook users in the US can watch official music videos on Facebook.
Facebook may be cutting its budget for original Watch content
Facebook is reportedly reducing its budget for original programming on Watch. The company plans to spend less on originals and more on talk shows and licensing clips from TV networks and sports leagues, The Information reports. Facebook's investment in Watch overall will reach approximately $1.4 billion in 2020, up from the company's initial billion-dollar budget in 2017.
PGA Tour highlight videos are coming to Facebook Watch
You won't have to venture far beyond your Facebook feed to get a pro golf fix this year. The social network has reached a deal with the PGA Tour to bring daily round recaps and player-oriented highlight videos to Facebook Watch in 2020, starting with the Farmers Insurance Open on January 23rd. These will be "expanded" videos with material from both core TV broadcasts as well as the digital-only PGA Tour Live service. You should see coverage from 30-plus events like The Players Championship and FedExCup Playoffs.
Facebook Watch could soon play music videos
Facebook may soon bring music videos to Watch. The company is reportedly negotiating new licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group. According to Bloomberg, it's asking each label for rights to music videos.
Facebook axes its Confetti trivia game in the US and UK
Facebook has continued to adjust the programming offered through its Watch platform by cutting shows that don't bring in enough viewers. Now, one year after it launched, the company has called time on its Confetti trivia game show. The interactive style of the show followed in the footsteps of HQ Trivia, but the popularity of the format has waned since its peak in 2018.
Fox Sports is creating exclusive, interactive shows for Facebook Watch
ESPN isn't the only big broadcaster committing to exclusive sports shows on Facebook Watch. Fox Sports is teaming up with Facebook to create unique interactive shows for Watch viewers, including a marquee Fox Football Sunday program. The Monday morning show covers the NFL games from the day before, all the while giving Facebook users a chance to ask questions from show hosts. If you can't wait that long, a Fox Football Update show on Sunday nights will recap match-ups in a more one-sided format.
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 Watch gets more NFL highlights, news and analysis
The National Football League isn't done teaming up with tech companies. Today, the NFL announced it is extending its partnership with Facebook, a deal that began back in 2017, which will continue to bring highlights of all 256 regular season games, playoffs and the Super Bowl to Facebook Watch. In addition to these recaps, this year the league is serving even more snackable programming on Watch, including news and analysis clips, video versions of podcasts, classic game archives from NFL Films and special videos dedicated to 100th NFL season. Facebook says that, in 2017 and 2018, over 22 million people watched at least a minute of an NFL recap, a sign that people on its site have an appetite for this type of video content.
Facebook adds new ways for public figures to make money and stay safe
Facebook wants to make it easier for famous people to engage with their fans on the site. That's why the company is launching new ways for Facebook users to interact with public figures they follow, be it internet creators, authors, athletes or sports teams. As part of these efforts, Facebook has started testing a feature that will let multiple public figure accounts contribute to the same Facebook Story during an event, plus a new tool in News Feed that's going to recommend people public figures they should follow. These suggestions, naturally, will be based on content you've engaged with on Facebook or other famous people you follow already.
‘Limetown’ trailer shows Facebook’s take on the hit podcast
The first trailer for the Facebook Watch mystery series Limetown is now available. The 10-episode series is based on the popular podcast by the same name. The show stars and was executive produced by Jessica Biel, and it premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this afternoon. The first two episodes are scheduled to launch on October 16th.
Eli Roth’s studio is making five horror series for Facebook Watch
Last fall, Crypt TV announced it would convert its Webby Award-winning short The Birch into a 15-episode horror series for Facebook Watch. The digital studio, founded by Eli Roth and Jack Davis, isn't stopping there. According to Deadline, Crypt TV and Facebook are teaming up to bring a total of five horror series to the platform.
Facebook says its Watch videos reach 720 million viewers a month
Facebook is still holding onto its dreams of Watch as a place where people can connect "more deeply" over videos. According to the company, 720 million people tune into Watch monthly, and 140 million people spend at least one minute on Watch daily. On average, those daily visitors spend more than 26 minutes on the platform. Now, Facebook says it's preparing to launch new content.
Facebook will change video ranking to prioritize original content
Facebook wants to make it easier for filmmakers to grow their audiences and for viewers to connect with content creators. To do so, over the coming months, Facebook will change how it ranks videos. It will give more weight to videos based on their originality, intent and viewing durations. In a press release, the company said this will affect how videos are distributed across platforms like News Feed, Facebook Watch and Facebook's video recommendations.
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 getting an animated comedy starring Anna Kendrick
Today, Facebook announced a new animated comedy series for its Watch tab called Human Discoveries. It will star Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron. It's scheduled to air later this year and will be set in prehistoric times, according to Variety. In other video news, back in October, Facebook and MTV announced that the social network would play host to new seasons of MTV's iconic reality show The Real World and that Facebook users would play a role in choosing one cast member. Now, MTV has given us more details. Facebook polling will determine the seventh and final cast member for each version of the show -- one will be set in the US, one in Mexico and one in Thailand.
NBA game recaps are coming to Facebook Watch
You'll soon get to see official highlights from every NBA game on Facebook, after the two signed a deal to stream recaps on the Watch tab. The agreement covers all four of the NBA's leagues: NBA, WNBA, NBA G League and the NBA 2K eSports league. Recaps from the Summer League, preseason and playoffs will also be available.
