BuzzFeed is finally entering hardcore video scene, and has hence launched a standalone video app for boasting its video content through the platform. While speaking at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, CEO and Founder Jonah Peretti announced the launch of the app, christened BuzzFeed Video.
With BuzzFeed video, users can access videos published by the platform. Users can even subscribe and search for the most popular videos through the app. The app is available for Android and iOS platforms starting today.
BuzzFeed relies on a native video player to run videos on its app instead of the popular YouTube platform. This signals a clear intent to venture into a standalone video platform to host its own content and bring in more users. BuzzFeed also plans to release exclusive videos through the app.
Co-founded by Jonah Peretti and John Johnson, BuzzFeed was launched in 2008 as a news and entertainment platform. Over the years the service has established itself as a source for all the trending social happenings. The service boasts of over 200 million unique visitors each month.
It got a big boost last year when NBC Universal joined on the board as a investor. This investment from the media giant helped BuzzFeed raise close to $200 million.
BuzzFeed and NBC Universal will be great strategic partners, and we both have a lot to offer the other. We look forward to collaborating on television content, movies, the Olympics, and joint partnerships with ad agencies and brands,
stated BuzzFeed’s executive chairman Kenneth Lerer.
The company also announced that it clocks over 6 billion views related to videos, articles, and lists on its various platforms, including Facebook and Snapchat. The company had stated earlier this month that video is the most viewed content on its platform.
Though the number of views are bleak compared to YouTube, BuzzFeed’s content is owned by the company, which helps keep all the revenue it generates through the videos. The company also launched its own motion picture company named as BuzzFeed Motion Pictures in 2014 in order to create new content that goes along with the preferences of the current generation.
