Facebook Watch is a new video platform with original content
Facebook has been trying to make the push into video for a while now. They desperately want to compete with YouTube and be a location for video content on the web. So far they have had moderate success, but maybe not as much as they’d like. Today, they announced Facebook Watch, a redesigned platform with original content.
Watch is basically a redesigned video tab. The big difference is original programming. Facebook will have a few shows available at launch, including Nas Daily, Gabby Bernstein, and Kitchen Little. Sports fans will also be able to watch one MLB game every week. This is an obvious attempt to compete with YouTube Red and Netflix, but Watch will be completely free to, well, watch.
Facebook has one advantage over almost every other video platform: users. There’s no question there is an audience for just about anything on Facebook. The key is to get people to start thinking about Facebook as a video platform. Right now that’s not the case.