It has long been reported that Facebook is working on original TV content. The company is reportedly going to kick things off with “spotlight shows” that will be inexpensive and up to ten minutes in length. The shows will be owned by the media companies that have teamed up with the company for Facebook TV. According to a new report, the first of these spotlight shows will debut in as early as two weeks.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Facebook has been asking its partners to submit the first episodes of their spotlight shows. Some of its partners are said to have done that already.
Some of the companies that have teamed up with Facebook on this project include BuzzFeed, Vox Media, and Group Nine Media. Facebook will eventually launch original shows of up to 30 minutes that will be solely funded and owned by itself.
Facebook TV was initially expected to be ready by June but delays have forced it to push the launch forward. Further delays are still predicted but there’s reason to believe that the first episodes of these spotlight shows will be launched in a fortnight.
Facebook’s own TV shows will be displayed outside users’ News Feed in a new video section. The shows are said to include scripted and user-generated content, but Facebook doesn’t appear to be taking on Netflix or HBO with its shows, at least not at this point in time.
The company declined to comment on the report so it’s not saying anything as yet about Facebook TV.
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