Facebook has provided an update on its video service Watch and announced new features and contract. Launched worldwide last summer, Watch has grown to more than 720 million monthly viewers and 140 million daily users, the company said.
Facebook defines viewers as those who watch at least one minute in Watch. On average, the daily visitors spend more than 26 minutes in Watch.
More social, more ads
The company said it's working on integrating more of its social features in Watch, too, as this increases engagement with the service. It recently launched a new way to find groups associated with videos, making it easier to join a group direct from Watch in order to comment on a video. This includes official groups from the programme makers or hosts and fan groups.
It's also testing a new section to find videos popular with friends on Facebook and a section dedicated to co-watching experiences like Watch Party, Premieres, and Live videos. Faceboook said viewers are eight times more likely to comment on videos in Watch Party than when watching on their own.
Increased engagement is also good for advertisers, which remain the source of funding for Watch. Ad breaks are available on Watch in over 40 countries already, and Canada is the latest to get ad support. Over the coming weeks Facebook plans to add support for five more languages as well: Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Swedish and Telugu.
New content partners and originals
In terms of content, Facebook announced new deals with ProSiebenSat in Germany, the International Cricket Council, Australia's Seven Studios and plans for more news programmes around the world.
It's also producing more of its own original content. The adaptation of MTV’s 'The Real World' premieres 13 June in the US, Mexico and Thailand, followed by the series 'Human Discoveries' in July and in August season five of 'Ball in the Family', the new 'Curse of Akakor', season two of 'Five Points' and season two of 'Huda Boss. Premiers in October include 'The Birch' and 'Limetown' as well as season two of 'Sorry For Your Loss'.
