By Steve Dent, Engadget
[post_ads]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.
Shows in the US that have taken off include Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith (2.9 million followers) and beauty industry mogul Huda Kattan's Huda Boss, along with PGA Tour and Major League Baseball
sports coverage. Facebook said that up to 50 million people tune in to
Watch for at least a minute per month, though you should take its video
numbers with a grain of salt. Upcoming shows will feature Cristiano Ronaldo and Catherine Zeta Jones.
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Facebook said Watch creators in four new countries (the UK, Ireland,
Australia and New Zealand) will be able to profit off their shows via
the "Ad Breaks" service. It will roll out to another 21 countries next
month, including France, Germany, Spain, Argentina and Thailand.
Facebook also lowered the threshold to monetize a channel: You now need
just 10,000 followers or to generate more than 30,000 one minute views
per month. It needs to be said again, however, that Facebook doesn't have a great reputation for paying publishers and creators well.
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Since
Watch launched, Facebook has made it more socially inclined by helping
users see which shows their friends have liked or shared. It also plans to unveil polls, quizzes and other interactive features for upcoming game shows like Outside Your Bubble later this year.
Facebook
said it will spend up to $2 billion on new content for Watch, a drop in
the hat compared to Netflix or YouTube, but still a significant sum. It
might want to spend some of that on marketing the service, as most
Americans have never heard of Watch, let alone used it, as Variety notes.
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