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Facebook has exclusive rights to 25 MLB games this season
Facebook will get exclusive rights to stream 25 afternoon MLB games, starting with one on April 4th between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. This isn't the first time the platform has aired baseball games -- they started livestreaming some back in May 2017 -- but it will be the first time a US major league has granted a social network sole rights to broadcast games.
Facebook adds Elizabeth Olsen dramedy to its growing video lineup
Facebook will soon be home to a half-hour dramedy series starring Elizabeth Olsen, Deadline reports. The show is currently untitled, but was formerly known as Widow, and is thought to be about a young widow who's reconnecting with people from her past while she deals with the loss of her husband. It was created by Kit Steinkellner (Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Switched at Birth creator Lizzy Weiss will serve as showrunner.
Facebook adds variety series hosted by NFL star Von Miller
The latest sports star to get a Facebook Watch show is Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller. Variety reports that Miller will get a live weekly variety series that brings together comedy, celebrity guests, teammates and Miller's brothers. "Having my own show is a dream come true," Miller told Variety. "I look forward to bringing the fans into my home and into my world each week. I know we are going to have some fun."
ESPN is adapting its popular 'First Take' show for Facebook
Facebook has been busy adding new shows to its Watch tab for a while now. But let's face it, big name broadcasters aren't exactly flocking to the social network as an avenue for their content. That's what makes today's news pretty significant. ESPN announced a new version of its popular First Take sports talk program that will be tailored to the more interactive confines of Facebook. The key difference? More viewer participation.
Facebook goes back to basics: People
Over the past couple of years, Facebook has frequently tweaked its News Feed algorithms to deliver stories that are relevant and of interest to you. It was a strategy that, until now, seemed to be the way forward for the site. But that's all about to change, as Facebook has announced that there are big adjustments coming to its News Feed. In the months ahead, the platform will start to prioritize posts from people you care about, like friends and family, over stories or videos from publishers. Users may react positively, but publications that rely on Facebook to drive traffic won't be happy.
Facebook adds more viewing options to its 360 app for Gear VR
Facebook launched its Facebook 360 app for Gear VR in March and today the company announces some new features. Facebook says that because people want more than just 360 videos in VR, it's adding a slew of new video types to the app's available options.
WWE wrestling is coming to Facebook's Watch tab in January
We still don't know how many people actually click the Watch tab on Facebook, but that isn't stopping the social network from signing programming deals at a rapid clip. The latest benefactor of Facebook's billion dollar video fund is a bit surprising. The WWE will air a 12-episode tournament exclusively on Zuckerberg's platform on Tuesday nights starting January 16th. If you're expecting full-on storylines from Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live just because grapplers from each show are participating, you might be disappointed, though. Instead of a Spandex soap opera, Mixed Match Challenge is a single-elimination mixed tag-team tournament where top prize is a $100,000 donation to the charity of the team's choice.
Facebook nabs a trio of shows from Machinima for its Watch tab
The last time Machinima was in the news it was for paying "influencers" to say nice things about the Xbox One. Now, the company has inked a deal with Facebook for three new shows that'll live on the social network's Watch platform, according to Deadline. Those include a comic-book talk show (Action Figures), a gaming themed dating show dubbed Co-op Connection and sketch comedy in the form of Dank/Fire. The deal says as much about Facebook as it does Machinima. For the former, it's willing to spend that billion dollars on TV programming from just about any source. And for Machinima, this gives the network an even bigger platform to broadcast on than its 12-million subscriber YouTube channel.
Nobody knows if Snapchat shows are actually successful
Snapchat hasn't been coy about its obsession with making original video content. Snap Inc., its parent company, sees TV-like programming as the holy grail and key to its long-term success. The quick, raw, disappearing videos that made Snapchat popular with teens are no longer enough to keep users locked in. Especially as Instagram has started stealing its most popular features, like Stories. Snapchat won't admit it, but Facebook may have inadvertently driven its push into original programming. Conquering that world won't be easy, and right now there are more questions than answers about whether Snapchat shows are working and how viable they are.
Dwyane Wade is the latest athlete to have a show on Facebook
Facebook's next pro athlete-centered show will feature the Cleveland Cavaliers' Dwyane Wade. The five-part series will premiere on November 20th and will show what keeps Wade busy when he's off the court. BackCourt Wade follows the three-time NBA champion as he attends Paris and Milan fashion weeks, tries to learn golf and manages his businesses.
Facebook adds live college basketball games to its Watch tab
Facebook has been getting more and more interesting content in efforts to build out its Watch tab, and now it's added college basketball to the mix. The social network has partnered with Stadium, a multiplatform network for sports, to exclusively show 47 live college basketball games on Facebook Watch. It kicks off tonight, with Belmont at Middle Tennessee starting at 7:30 PM ET.
Bill Murray's Facebook show is a tour of minor league baseball
Facebook is nabbing shows left and right for its Watch platform, which finished rolling out to US users in September. While it's added current content with a Humans of New York program, a reality show with Marshawn Lynch and several popular Latino YouTube series, Watch is about to get a legend. Bill Murray is getting own unscripted comedy visiting minor league baseball teams with his brother. Because of course.
Facebook snags a Kerry Washington-produced drama
Facebook continues to add to its slate of original content and the latest show to join the lineup is a Kerry Washington-produced drama called Five Points, Variety reports. The show follows high school students living on the South Side of Chicago and covers the fallout of a life-changing event from five different points of view.
Facebook scoops NFL video highlights and in-depth recaps
With its recently launched Watch video section still fresh, Facebook is wasting no time in expanding its line-up. This time it's ditching original shows in favor of football. The company just announced that it's teaming up with the NFL to bring highlights for all 256 regular season games, as well as the playoffs and Super Bowl, to its social network. On top of that, it's getting three in-depth segments in the form of NFL Game Recaps, NFL Turning Point, and Sound FX for its Watch tab. Those outside of the US can catch the video blitz by following the NFL Facebook page or any of the league's 32 clubs. The shows will each be available globally via their respective pages as well.
Facebook snags hit Latino YouTube shows for its Watch video tab
Facebook is steadily adding shows to its recently launched Watch video tab for mobile, desktop, and TV. Last week, it nabbed a docuseries based on viral blog Humans of New York, which already boasts a massive following on the social network. The same goes for its latest additions -- two new latino shows that have found considerable success on rival video service YouTube. The weekly programmes come courtesy of digital video network Mitú, and include Mom's Movie Reviews, and What's Good in Your Hood.
‘Humans of New York’ is getting its own Facebook TV show
Facebook is steadily rolling out its new Watch section for original shows on desktop and mobile. But, what good is a new video platform without a stocked lineup of programming? To give you more options, the social network is ordering a new, 12-episode docuseries from the creator of the Humans of New York photoblog.
Facebook 'Watch' section launches as a platform for TV shows
Get ready for a new tab in Facebook on the web, mobile and TV apps, as the social network has announced it's replacing the video button with "Watch." Watch is "a new platform for shows on Facebook," and why that doesn't yet explain why we'd want one, but given Silicon Valley's obsession with the format, it's not hard to imagine why this is what we're getting. At first, Watch will be available to a "limited subset" of US users, before rolling out to more people here over the next few weeks.
