Facebook Watch Tab Launches for Original Video Content

Facebook has added a new feature called the Watch tab that will be the place where all sorts of original video content made by its partners lives. The video content will have commercials in the video and the revenue generated by the videos will be split between the creator of the content and the social network.

The split will give Facebook 45% of the ad revenue and the creators will get 55% of the revenue the video generates. TechCrunch reports that the Watch tab is launching with several dozen original shows with a small group of users in the US tomorrow on mobile, desktop, and TV apps. The hope is that people will frequently return to the social network to watch videos that they can’t get anywhere else.

Watch tab users will find personalized recommendations and the tab has categories like “Most Talked About,” “What’s making People Laugh,” and “Shows Your Friends Are Watching.” Publishers of the video content can share it outside of the Watch tab on the News Feed to help users find the video. Users are able to create a Watchlist and subscribe to new episodes of whatever shows you like on the Watch tab for notifications when new content is available.

The shows are also linked to Groups so people can talk about them. Watch will be rolled out to more users in the US first and then will roll out internationally later. When your account gets access, you will see a TV button on the bottom nav bar of the main Facebook app. Facebook did fund the production of some of the shows that will be available.