Facebook rolls out video service globally 

With the aim of giving people around the world a new way to discover great videos and interact with friends, content creators and other fans, Facebook has made its video-on-demand service, Facebook Watch available globally while also expanding its Ad Breaks program so more partners can make money from their videos. According to the social media giant’s management, taking Facebook Watch global also means new opportunities for creators and publishers around the world.

Facebook Watch enables users discover new videos spanning entertainment, sports, news and more in a personalised Watch feed, catch up with creators and publishers they love by keeping a watchlist, or a collection of recent videos from Pages they follow, save videos to watch later in Watch as well as participate in videos. “Over time you’ll be able to find new video experiences in your Watch feed, like watch parties, premieres, and videos focused on audience participation — like the new trivia game show, Confetti. And we’ll make it easier to find live videos so you can discuss the big moments as they’re happening,” a statement from Facebook reads.

The service was launched in the US a year ago to give people a place on Facebook to find shows and video creators they love and to start conversations with friends, other fans, and even creators themselves. Over the past year, Facebook has made the experience more social by like making it easier for people to see which videos their friends have liked or shared, creating shows that have audience participation at their core, and opening Watch to videos from Pages. “These updates have helped people discover and engage more deeply with videos they love — from Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, to beauty mogul Huda Kattan’s behind-the-scenes show Huda Boss, to live Major League Baseball games. Every month, more than 50 million people in the US come to watch videos for at least a minute in Watch — and total time spent watching videos in Watch has increased by 14x since the start of 2018. We’re excited to bring Watch to everyone around the world and invite you to join in the action in our new video destination,” the statement adds.

To access Watch on iOS and Android, users are urged to look for the Watch icon in their shortcuts bar or the “More” bookmark. Watch is also available on Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Xbox One, and Oculus TV.  Meanwhile, the company’s Ad Breaks service, which is designed to allow companies monetize their content, will roll out in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, August 30, and launch in another 21 countries including France, Germany, Spain and across Latin America and Asia on September 21.