14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook is working on a new app for set-top boxes in order to put more focus on the video content available on the platform.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Facebook’s new app will work on set-top boxes, including Apple TV and it will be different from what the company is offering Roku users, which is pretty much just its mobile app with a little twist.
This is one of Facebook’s new efforts to turn video into a proper revenue tool. The company has been testing mid-video ads for a while now, and by moving all this content straight to set-top boxes, it would also be tapping into those huge TV advertising budgets.
Facebook - media company
Previous reports regarding Facebook’s efforts to license original video content seem to make more sense now when combined with news about this special app. This original content would be of high quality, and it would be unique to Facebook, much like Netflix and Amazon have their own TV shows.
This could bring in some new crowds that don’t normally watch user-generated content on Facebook. By mixing in the two, Facebook would make all users happy, especially if the user content that’s allowed into the app is more of a live-video type.
With this new tool, Facebook could turn into that TV alternative that it’s been hoping for, even when it comes to news. Viewing videos taken by users present at a rally, for instance, could give people more insight into what’s going on, especially if it’s live streaming.
This would be just another step taken by Facebook into being viewed as a media company, something they’ve denied in the past. But now, if the app allows live streams to TV set top boxes, mixed with the new changes to the News Feed which seek to take out fake news, it won’t be able to deny the new direction much longer.