In August 2022, Facebook announced that it would be shutting down its dedicated Facebook Watch platform. This came as a surprise to many users who had come to enjoy using Watch to view videos, shows, and live streams. In this article, we’ll take a look at what exactly FB Watch was, why Facebook decided to discontinue it, and where Facebook video content is heading next.
What was Facebook Watch?
Facebook launched Watch in 2017 as a dedicated place on both the Facebook app and desktop site for users to watch videos. It provided a home for original video content produced exclusively for Facebook, including scripted shows, reality series, live sports, and more.
Watch aimed to capitalize on the exploding popularity of video sharing and viewing on social platforms. While users could already watch plenty of video on Facebook in their main News Feeds, Watch was envisioned as a video destination – a place users would intentionally visit to find new shows to follow and engage with.
In many ways, Watch took cues from YouTube, Netflix and other video streaming platforms – just tailored for the Facebook ecosystem. Watch allowed creators to build engaged followings around their video content while enabling innovative new video ad formats for brands and marketers.
Some of the popular original programs that found homes on Watch included:
– Humans of New York: The Series
– Red Table Talk
– Ball in the Family
– Sacred Lies
– Five Points
– Huda Boss
– Warriors of Liberty City
In all, Facebook reported that 140 million people spent at least 1 minute on Watch per day as of August 2020. That’s a sizable audience, though still just a fraction of Facebook’s total user base.
Why did Facebook end Watch?
So why did Facebook pull the plug on an initiative that seemed to be gaining respectable traction?
A few key reasons likely led to Watch’s demise:
– **Lack of clear purpose** – While Watch was doing reasonably well, it arguably never fully carved out a differentiated, must-visit niche for itself. Convincing users to change habits and intentionally visit a new destination just for video proved challenging. Watch content was not quite TV-like appointment viewing, nor did Watch emerge as a competitor to YouTube for casual browsing.
– **Video focus shifting** – Facebook has been pushing recently to have video content show up more throughout the main app and News Feed, rather than siloed in its own section. So doubling down on Watch went against that strategic shift.
– **Other business priorities** – Facebook likely felt its resources were better spent on other initiatives, like building out its TikTok competitor Reels, expanding ads, ramping up metaverse plans, and improving AI recommendations. Watch was not enough of a revenue driver or engagement boost to remain a top priority.
– **Redundancies with Instagram** – Since Facebook owns Instagram too, Watch inevitably ended up duplicating some efforts to share and view video happening over there. Instagram’s IGTV provides overlapping video features.
Essentially, while Watch was performing respectably, Facebook saw a chance to simplify by consolidating video efforts and focusing resources elsewhere.
What’s next for video on Facebook?
While the standalone Watch destination is going away, video is obviously still a massive priority for Facebook. Some users may not notice huge changes, as video posts will remain prominent in News Feeds. But video content and viewing on Facebook will evolve in certain ways:
More video mixed into News Feed
Rather than segregating video into its own tab, Facebook will aim to surface more and more video directly in users’ News Feeds. The idea is to keep users engaged within their core social feeds, rather than force an additional destination for video.
Facebook is also looking to lean more heavily into algorithmic recommendations to surface video you might be interested in, similar to YouTube’s approach. This could increase engagement as the videos shown relate to your tastes and interests based on signals Facebook picks up on.
Short-form video push
Especially to compete with TikTok, expect Facebook to recommend and make it easy to find more bite-sized short videos under 60 seconds. Reels will be a primary focus here. Quick, fun videos that catch the eye and can be consumed in moments notice fit the modern mobile media consumption habits of many users.
Emphasis on live video
Live streaming has been one of Facebook’s biggest video successes to date. Watch helped build up a live infrastructure and consumer behavior, and now the aim will be to make live streams as frictionless as possible to create and find across Facebook’s apps. Gaming and creators/influencers tend to be the biggest sources of live content.
New monetization and premium options
To incentivize professional media companies and creators to continue producing great video for Facebook, expect more tools to help them monetize through ad revenue shares, subscriptions, tipping/gifting, and more. Facebook aims to make quality original video financially viable.
There could also be potential for new premium video subscription options for certain types of content, though Facebook’s strategy here is not fully clear yet. They want as much video as possible available for free to maximize engagement.
Tight integration with Instagram
Since Facebook owns Instagram too, expect the video experience between the apps to become more cohesive. Creators can already conveniently cross-post video to both destinations seamlessly. And video-centric Instagram features like Reels, IGTV, and Live may get integrated back into Facebook in some form so users don’t have to bounce between apps quite as much.
Portal hardware push
Facebook’s Portal smart displays and TV video chat devices have not seen massive consumer adoption yet. But Facebook is likely to keep trying to push these devices as a slick dedicated video chat/calling experience. Having a Portal in your living room makes it easy to catch up with friends and family over video. The more Facebook can get Portals into households, the more engagement potential.
The Fate of Specific Facebook Watch Features
As the main Watch destination gets discontinued, here’s what’s happening to some of its key features:
Watch video pages
Videos will remain on Facebook, they will just live on publishers’ and creators’ Pages, profiles and Groups rather than on standalone Watch pages. Expect these video posts to be very prominent to users who follow those Pages/profiles.
Shows tab
This dedicated tab of original episodic content will go away. However, Facebook Watch originals will continue to be available on creators’ Pages and potentially get recommended to interested viewers.
Live tab
Similarly, this tab will disappear but live streams will continue thriving on Pages, profiles, Groups and Events across Facebook. They may get their own dedicated row/section in users’ feeds.
Watchlist and Following
Users will no longer be able to build out a Watchlist or Follow specific shows. However, you can continue to Like/Follow creator Pages and get notified when they post new videos.
Gaming video
Facebook Gaming and its live streams have been a Watch growth area. This content will now just fully exist within the Gaming tab/destination rather than split across Gaming and Watch.
Ad Breaks
Watch’s functionality that allowed creators to insert mid-roll ads into their videos will continue working. Advertising remains a priority.
Facebook Live Producer
This live production tool for creators will remain available, though may evolve in the future.
| Watch Feature | Fate |
|---|---|
| Watch Video Pages | Moving to creator Pages/profiles |
| Shows Tab | Discontinued |
| Live Tab | Discontinued but live content remains |
| Watchlist | Discontinued |
| Following Shows | Discontinued |
| Gaming Video | Moving to Gaming tab |
| Ad Breaks | Still available for creators |
| Live Producer Tool | Still available |
Conclusion
While the shutdown of the dedicated Facebook Watch destination may disappoint some video enthusiasts on the platform, the truth is video content and viewing is not going away on Facebook. If anything, users can expect video to become more ubiquitous and integrated directly into their feeds moving forward.
Facebook will aim to show you the kinds of videos you individually want to see based on proprietary AI signals. The days of needing a separate video portal like Watch may simply be over as video becomes a seamless part of the social networking tapestry. For many casual users, the death of Watch will be barely noticed as video posts continue thriving on Pages and in News Feeds.
The onus will be on professional creators and media companies to find effective ways to build and monetize audiences around their video content within Facebook’s evolving ecosystem. But the platform’s massive built-in audience still provides immense potential upside for video compared to newer competitors.
Rather than a “pivot away” from video, Facebook’s decision to end Watch can be seen as a doubling down on video integration directly into the mainstream experience. In today’s attention economy, forcing users into a separate siloed video destination is no longer aligned with how people want to naturally encounter and engage with video as part of their social media journey.