Facebook may soon be coming to a TV near you. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the company is developing a video-centric app for television set-top boxes including Apple TV. This move will give Facebook a new vehicle for generating revenue from video advertising. Sources told the publication that the app is one of several projects aimed at making it a “video-first” company.
The report also notes that Facebook is in discussions with media companies to license long-form, TV-quality programming. The app for set-top boxes would give it a natural way to distribute that content. In December last year, there were reports suggesting that the company was in talks with TV studios as well as video producers about licensing shows. These talks were said to have been lead by the Co-Founder of College Humor, Ricky Van Veen, who joined Facebook last year.
Live video may also play a part in the company’s TV plans. In April last year, the company released wider support for Facebook Live by releasing its API. This would allow developers to include Facebook Live streaming into specific devices and apps. The company is said to be looking at ways to generate more revenue from its videos and last month, it was reportedly testing a mid-roll ad format. This would allow video publishers the chance to insert advertisements into their videos. The report notes that Facebook will sell the ads and then share the revenue with publishers.