Facebook strikes video partnerships

Facebook has reportedly signed deals with firms including Buzzfeed, Vox Media and ATTN to supply content to its forthcoming video service.

Mark Zuckerberg

The millennial-skewing companies will produce ad-supported shortform programming for the social media giant, according to Reuters.

The report adds that Facebook is also planning scripted shows lasting 20 to 30 minutes, which it will own and pay up to US$250,000 for.

The budget of the shortform content will be between US$10,000 and $35,000 and creators will be given a 55% cut of the revenue from the ads, Reuters said.

“I see video as a megatrend. That’s why I’m going to keep putting video first across our family of apps,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in February during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, shortly before the social network launched a video app on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung smart televisions.

Earlier this year it emerged that Facebook was talking to producers about developing original programming for its service and licensing longer-form TV shows, including scripted content and sports and entertainment programming. The slate of programming has been tipped to launch in mid-June.

The company hired CollegeHumour co-founder Ricky Van Veen to oversee its video content in December last year, following this with the appointment of MTV exec VP of scripted development Mina Lefevre as head of original content development.

Facebook joins other online firms such as YouTube and Snapchat in pushing into the original content space, where it will compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon as well as traditional TV networks.