The social media giant seems way too keen to release premium TV-like content as soon as possible. But multiple reports suggest this might not happen until the end of this summer.
The exclusively made-for-Facebook video content is expected to be a part of a separate video tab which is slated to release soon. Facebook has been involved with various production houses for months regarding the same. It wanted to get done with the content by April and roll it out by the end of the June. But, it is said that the launch has been delayed until late July or early August, or possibly even much later.
The exact reasons behind this delay are not known, however, sources say the lag is due to the product-related issues. Facebook is still working to add that video tab in both the website and the app. They are still unsure of the presence of these shows whether they get to have their own page, or will they be a part of the publisher’s page. The fate of the shows outside that video tab is being thought over.
Till now, Facebook hasn’t really allowed advertisements to play before the videos the social network has. It has billions of users who watch together millions of videos. By venturing into video content, it could be seen generating revenue and bridge that revenue deficit.
The original shows will be of two kinds, one would be ‘episodic’ content, which will emulate the TV-like long form content with each episode of 30 minutes or more. While other focus would be on short 5-10 minute long videos with a much smaller budget. They will revolve around latest updates or general topics and will be aired almost daily.
On an interesting note, Apple is also heading into this direction. It has been working on its first TV original, Carpool Karaoke: The Series’, for quite a while. It was expected to release by the end of the last month, but sadly, the Cupertino giant confirmed that it’s not going to be launched until later this year.
The video space is being explored by various other players. Twitter has been working on bringing a 24-hours a day live stream. The company had also announced that it is working on launching ‘hundreds of hours’ worth of exclusive live original programming, equipped with live games, events, and other such syndications.
