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The
move is the biggest challenge yet by Facebook to online rivals,
including Twitter Inc's <TWTR.N> Periscope live-streaming
service, Snapchat's video features and Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O>
YouTube, as well as a potential threat to broadcast television.
Live video is becoming a highly competitive feature on social
platforms, with companies competing to stream major sports
events and exclusive video components from high-profile events
such as the Oscar and Grammy awards shows.
Advertisers are particularly attracted to video that reaches a
younger audience.
Facebook Live, which offers streaming video in real time, was
launched last year. On Wednesday, it added features, including a
map of video streams around the world, expanded search and
filters that echo those on other platforms. Videos can be turned
into black-and-white shots, like on Facebook's Instagram, for
instance, and soon users will be able to add doodles, a nod to a
feature on Snapchat.
Product head Chris Cox hosted a live video session Wednesday to
advertise the product, and said Facebook hopes it will be used
for everything from intimate family moments, such as a baby's
first steps, celebrity-hosted question-and-answer sessions and
breaking newscasts.
At a Facebook Live launch event in Hollywood on Wednesday, Will
Cathcart, Facebook's vice president of product, told Reuters
that the company has paid some partners to supply video in order
to get Live off to a quick start, although he expected media
companies would make money from advertising and other services
longer term.
Time Inc <TIME.N> has been paid to use Facebook Live, a source
with knowledge of the partnership told Reuters. Vox Media Inc's
eight brands, which include Vox and Re/code, also have been paid
by Facebook, another source told Reuters.
Re/code tech news site said Facebook is paying The New York
Times, BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post, as well.
Thomson Reuters <TRI.N> and Conde Nast Entertainment also will
work with Facebook Live, spokespeople said. Thomson Reuters is
the parent of Reuters News.
Facebook's app now features Live prominently in the display bar
for many users on iOS and Android across 60 countries.
While Facebook's News Feed has long had videos, largely shared
from other websites such as YouTube, the company had not heavily
pushed its own video products.
Its executives have, however, advertised the 1.6 billion-person
social media site's video reach on earnings calls. Chief
Executive Mark Zuckerberg told investors in January that 500
million people watch videos on Facebook every day.
(Reporting By Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Peter Henderson,
Alistair Bell and Leslie Adler)
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