Facebook ready to spend USD 1 bln on original video in 2018 - report

News Video Global 11 SEP 2017
Facebook ready to spend USD 1 bln on original video in 2018 - report

Facebook is prepared to spend up to USD 1 billion on original TV shows next year in a bid to compete with Netflix, Amazon and HBO via its new video-aggregation platform Watch, according to unnamed sources cited in the Wall Street Journal. Last month the same paper reported that Apple had likewise set aside USD 1 billion to acquire and produce original video content over the next year. However, Facebook’s USD 1 billion spend could fluctuate based on the success of its programming, added the report.

In July 2016, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s goal was to become a video-first service. It has since started showing a weekly live-streaming Major League Baseball game, and also has reached deals for Major League Soccer and eSports content from ESL as well as launching its new Watch service. Netflix, Amazon and HBO currently spend USD 6 billion, USD 4.5 billion and USD 2 billion a year respectively on content.

Categories:

Video

Companies:

Apple,  Amazon,  Facebook,  Netflix,  HBO

Regions:

Global

Tags:

Production planning & operations, Broadcast

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