Facebook would like to launch original programming by the end of the summer and is in talks with a number of studios and agencies about producing TV-quality shows, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. It hopes to target audiences from ages 13 to 34, with a particular focus on the 17-to-30 range. Among the shows Facebook already has lined up is “Strangers,” a relationship drama aimed at millennials that made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, and the game show “Last State Standing.”
In a move seeling to distinguish itself from Netflix and Amazon, Facebook is also telling Hollywood it will share viewership data with them.
The company has met with talent agencies such as Creative Artists Agency, United Talent Agency, William Morris Endeavor and ICM Partners, and has indicated it is willing to commit to production budgets as high as USD 3 million per episode, the price range of high-end cable-TV shows. Facebook is also interested in more moderate-cost scripted shows in the mid-to-high six-figure-per-episode range. The company will be aggressive about trying to own as much of that content as possible, the sources said.
The push for TV shows is part of a two-track effort at Facebook to lift its profile in video and target ad dollars spent on television. Facebook also is seeking short-form content, primarily unscripted, that could run for 10 minutes in the Spotlight section for videos.
The social network is guaranteeing creators of short-form fare a minimum USD 5,000-20,000 share of ad revenue per episode, a source familiar with the company’s strategy said. Companies working on such content for Facebook include BuzzFeed, ATTN and Refinery 29. Facebook declined to comment on the specifics of its content plans but said it is supporting a small group of partners and creators, with a focus on episodic shows. Sources said
Facebook would also be willing to take another network’s castoffs or “distressed assets,” one entertainment executive said. The company is nearing a deal for the family comedy “Loosely Exactly Nicole,” which Viacom’s MTV canceled earlier this year after one season. An executive familiar with the show said its budget was in the USD 1 million-per-episode range.
Facebook has told people it wants to steer clear of shows about children and young teens as well as political dramas, news and shows with nudity and rough language.
Facebook is expected to spread out the release of its episodes, in the traditional fashion, rather than dropping an entire season at one time, as Netflix and Amazon do, the people familiar with the matter say.
