Facebook Watch

Facebook Watch
Type of site
Video-on-demand
Available inEnglish
Headquarters,
United States
Area servedWorldwide
Key people
  • Ricky Van Veen (Head of Global Creative Strategy)
  • Mina Lefevre (Head of Development)
  • Fidji Simo (VP of Product for Video)
IndustryInternet
ParentMeta Platforms
URLwww.facebook.com/watch
CommercialYes
LaunchedAugust 10, 2017 (2017-08-10)
Current statusActive (Web, iOS and Android)
Discontinued (TV App)

Facebook Watch (currently rebranding to Facebook Video) is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and it was available to all U.S. users that month. Facebook Watch's original video content is produced for the company by others, who earn 55% of advertising revenue (Facebook keeps the other 45%).

Facebook Watch offers tailored video recommendations and organizes content into categories based on metrics like popularity and user engagement. The platform hosts both short and long-form entertainment. In 2018, Facebook allocated a $1 billion budget for content creation. The company generates revenue from mid-roll ads and also explored the introduction of pre-roll ads in the same year. As of August 30, 2018, Facebook Watch became globally accessible to all Facebook users.[1]

As of September 2020, Facebook reported that Facebook Watch had more than 1.25 billion monthly visitors, 46% of its monthly active user base at that time.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Facebook Watch Is Going Global". Meta. August 29, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Dredge, Stuart (September 7, 2020). "Facebook Watch now has more than 1.25bn monthly visitors". Music Ally. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Ha, Anthony (September 3, 2020). "Facebook Watch is getting 1.25 billion visitors each month". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 21, 2023.