Internet giant Facebook is rolling out new ways for users to find and follow content in Watch, its platform for showcasing videos published on the site. First piloted in 2017 before a wider roll-out, Watch was conceived as a centralized place for people to discover new videos and to access multi-episode shows in the same way they might on other video streaming platforms. Previously, users would have mainly only seen videos shared by their friends or by the Pages they followed. The value of having a place dedicated to video in this way is shown by the fact that more than 1.25 billion people a month now visit Watch, according to Facebook.
Content on Watch covers the full gamut of what users publish to Facebook, including live events, TV shows, sports, news, and music videos. For partners like Buzzfeed, UFC, and French broadcaster M6, the platform has proved successful in helping to reach new viewers beyond their existing audiences. Among its highlights since launch have been a Latin American audience of more than 13.7 million for the UEFA Champions League final, the debut of Katy Perry's music video "Smile," and a reboot of MTV's The Real World.
Facebook says its aim is to "instantly entertain people when they visit Watch," so it uses navigation tools, curation, and machine learning to serve content to users. It's now further personalizing the experience by adding the functionality for keeping track of videos about specific topics. Users (in just the U.S. initially) can click on topics in Watch to explore them and if they want, can choose to follow them for updates. The followed topics are then easily accessed in the future.
Discovering New Topics
According to Facebook, there are already hundreds of topics to choose from, giving the examples of crafts, comedy, dance and beauty. It also suggests they'll help users to discover new Pages they might be interested in based on what topics those Pages are posting videos about. Only the user will know which topics they've chosen, and they can decide to add new topics or remove old ones whenever they want.
There are a number of new sections being added to Facebook Watch too, aimed at helping users to discover more content. The What’s Happening and Featured sections will show "timely and relevant" content chosen by Facebook, such as moments from the Emmy Awards, MLB World Series, Vote-A-Thon 2020, and LatinX and Hispanic Heritage Month, as well as new music videos. The Most Haha’d This Week and Most Loved This Week sections, meanwhile, will show videos that Facebook users are engaging with the most. The new Facebook Watch sections will again be rolled out initially in the U.S., but also in some other selected markets.