Facebook are having a punt that longer-form, more 'TV-style video' might be easier to monetise through advertising, than its existing video content.
If it can pull some of the billions of dollars of existing TV ads away from television and convince advertisers to go digital, it will be a very profitable move indeed.
As the article below explains, it's not alone in that hope. "Google is trying to do that with YouTube as well, and so is Amazon with Amazon Prime Video. And Snapchat's parent company Snap recently embarked on a new video push that looks very similar to what Facebook is doing."
We are probably one of the very few production companies who consistently persuade clients away from TV ad's and towards distributing their content via cinema and digital. Quite simply, you get more bang for your buck - and it is far easier to quantify the ROI. You can track 'bums on seat' through an audience guarantee plan at the cinema and you can track the number of views, shares, likes on digital.
We will watch with interest to see how this plays out.
After initially pushing short-form video for Facebook Live, the social network is now trying to get publishers to create longer-form, episodic content instead. But the pivot has some media companies nervous about whether the shift will be worth their while or not. Facebook will pay up to $35,000 for each short project, and publishers will retain the rights to those creations. The longer video shows will get up to $250,000 each, and Facebook will own the rights. According to a recent report from Reuters, the tech giant is signing deals with companies like BuzzFeed, Vox, and Group Nine (the publisher behind brands like NowThis and The Dodo) for more TV-style video, both short clips of about 10 minutes in length and longer shows of 20 minutes or more.
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