Facebook Will Officially Be a Media Company Once It Buys Its Own Video Content

By Precious Gem de Peralta
Facebook
Though Facebook still refuse to call itself a media company, that may soon not be the case. Facebook is said to be considering the possibility of buying its own video content. Bhupinder Nayyar via Flickr

Mark Zuckerberg has always been firm that Facebook is not a media company. However, the social media platform may soon change its tune. Based on a recent report, the company is apparently considering to buy its own video content. This move will officially Facebook as a “media” company.

Facebook is said to be in talks with TV studios and other video producers. According to Recode, among those that are being discussed is the licensing of scripted shows, game shows and sports. College Humor’s Ricky Van Veen is leading the work to boost Facebook’s video efforts.

He said in a statement, “Earlier this year, we started rolling out the Video tab, a dedicated place for video on Facebook. Our goal is to kick start an ecosystem of partner content for the tab, so we’re exploring funding some seed video content, including original and licensed scripted, unscripted, and sports content, that takes advantage of mobile and the social interaction unique to Facebook. Our goal is to show people what is possible on the platform and learn as we continue to work with video partners around the world.”

Though Facebook seemed to venture into a new route, sources who are familiar with the matter revealed that it is “more interested in experimenting with different formats”. The company is not fully following the steps of Netflix and Amazon. The popular streaming service Netflix has been very successful in its market. Its original series like Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, Narcos and The Crown have been huge hits.

Recode had previously reported that Facebook might want to acquire video contents from its creative partners. In fact, it should decide to invest in such content. It certainly is not profitable for Facebook to just send “money to content makers and letting them do what they want with it.”

TechCrunch agreed that if Facebook does pursue this, it will have another way to monetize their platform. Furthermore, this will encourage more video content that will lead to Facebook’s another goal of growing its Daily Active Users.

Back in August, Reuters reported that Zuckerberg said to students at Rome’s Luiss University, “No, we are a tech company, not a media company.” To make his point clear, he added, “We build the tools, we do not produce any content.” However, this is not supported by some of Facebook’s actions like acquiring CrowdTangle, a tool that is being used by media companies or the deal with Vox Media to produce live content.

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