Facebook Rolls Out ‘Watch’, A TV-like Video Service

In an obvious move to take on rivals such as YouTube and Netflix, social media giant, Facebook has rolled out “watch”.

The TV-like video service will offer professionally produced shows the avenue to interact socially with their audience while leveraging the Facebook community.

Facebook chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, while making the announcement on Wednesday, described the new platform as “a place where you can discover shows your friends are watching and follow your favorite shows and creators so you don’t miss any episodes.

“You’ll be able to chat and connect with people during an episode, and join groups with people who like the same shows afterwards to build community.”

The company’s vice president, Nick Grudin, in a blog post said, “Watch is comprised of shows, a new type of video on Facebook,”

“Shows are made up of episodes – live or recorded – that follow a consistent theme or story line…Our goal is for Watch to be a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience, build a community of passionate fans, and earn money for their work,” he said.