In a sign that it’s deadly serious about making big video inroads, social media titan Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is considering paying content producers to distribute original programming on its platform.
According to Recode, the company is in negotiations to license all kinds of shows:
Facebook is starting to talk to TV studios and other video producers about licensing shows, with the hopes of boosting the social network’s video efforts. The talks are being led by Ricky Van Veen, the College Humor co-founder who joined the company earlier this year.
Facebook has already inked deals with publishers like Vox Media to distribute live video content, but those are relatively small arrangements. The company is now seemingly interested in spending a lot more money on higher-budget offerings, perhaps even licensing full series, although it remains hesitant to invest the kind of large sums that Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu typically spend.
Van Veen said via statement:
Earlier this year, we started rolling out the Video tab, a dedicated place for video on Facebook. Our goal is to kickstart an ecosystem of partner content for the tab, so we’re exploring funding some seed video content, including original and licensed scripted, unscripted, and sports content, that takes advantage of mobile and the social interaction unique to Facebook. Our goal is to show people what is possible on the platform and learn as we continue to work with video partners around the world.
Facebook shares rose $0.62 (+0.51%) to $120.93 in afternoon trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, FB has gained 15.53%, versus an 11.56% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
