Facebook Watch may become more like YouTube (FB, GOOGL)

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Facebook aims to give more content creators the opportunity to make shows for the company’s TV-like section, Watch, in a bid to more directly rival YouTube,CNBCreports. Facebook plans to implement a system in which creators can upload their shows to Watch for free and earn ad revenue, similar to how creators monetize on YouTube

Facebook's initial focus was on procuring Watch shows fromprofessionalpublishers and media companies by partially funding some Watch shows and buying others outright. The company enables current Watch partners to earn 55% of mid-roll ad revenue on their shows.

Making Watch available to smaller creators is beneficial to Facebook’s broader video push:

Facebook can lure creators discouraged by YouTube’s stricter monetization criteria.
changed
demonetized
The company would no longer have to shell out money to procure Watch content.
$250,000
And it could help Facebook address the issue of declining time spent per user.

But opening up Watch to more creators will make it increasingly difficult to vet content. Opening up Watch to smaller creators increases the chances of objectionable videos being posted to the platform. This means Facebook could encounter the same type of advertiser boycotts that YouTube faced in 2017. However, creating a system where only top, vetted Watch videos are eligible for ads — similar to Google Preferred — could help Facebook preemptively ensure brand safety. Facebook is reportedly already discussing creating this type of tiered system, which would help it more directly challenge YouTube.

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