Facebook Watch Takes on YouTube, Other Video Streaming Services

In a move aimed at YouTube, Facebook Watch will be available on mobile, desktop, and through the company’s TV apps. The original video content is being produced exclusively by its partners, who will earn 55 percent of the ad revenue, according to TechCrunch.

At launch, Watch will feature personalized recommendations of live and recorded shows to watch under categories such as “Most Talked About,” “What’s Making People Laugh,” and “Shows Your Friends Are Watching.”

Shows you’re likely to see include:

• Tastemade’s Kitchen Little – This cooking show sees kids watch a how-to recipe video, then instruct a pro chef how to make the dish with comedic results
• Major League Baseball – The MLB will broadcast one game a week live on Facebook
• Major League Baseball “12:25 Live” –  A comedic look at baseball with help from the fans
• Mike Rowe – Rowe finds people who’ve done great things for their community and gives them a special experience in return
• Nas Daily – Vlogger Nas (Correction: Not the rapper) makes videos with his biggest friends each day
• Gabby Bernstein – Motivational speaker and author answers fans’ life questions in live and recorded segments
• A&E’s “Bae or Bail:” – Reality TV game show where couples face their fears and see who runs
• All Def Digital’s “Inside the Office” – A look inside the office life at Russel Simmons’ hip-hop media empire
• Billboard’s “How it Went Down” – A documentary series of musicians sharing crazy stories
• David Lopez’s “My Social Media Life”  – A reality show about the social media star’s life
• Golden State Warriors’ “Championship Rewind”  – A behind-the-scenes look at the Bay Area’s NBA championship 2016-2017 season
• Univision Deportes’ “Liga MX” – Live coverage of LigaMX soccer matches
• National Geographic’s “We’re Wired that Way:” – Mini-documentaries about weird quirks of humanity like songs you can’t get out of your head
• National Geographic’s “Safari Live” – Watch live safaris led by National Geographic’s guides
• NASA’s “Science @ NASA” – Explore science topics in quick four to five-minute episodes
• NBA’s “WNBA All-Access” – A behind the scenes show with women’s basketball stars
• The Dodo’s “Comeback Kids: Animal Edition” features determined animals facing difficult conditions or challenges meet people who refuse to give up on them.
• Tommy Mac – A master woodworker gives live tutorials on how to make furniture

Facebook plans on rolling out the service slowly, first in the United States and then later internationally. You’ll be able to access the content by clicking on a TV-shaped Watch button on the bottom navigation bar in the main Facebook app.

As Facebook explains:

We’ll be introducing Watch to a limited group of people in the U.S. and plan to bring the experience to more people soon. Similarly, we’ll be opening up Shows to a limited group of creators and plan to roll out to all soon.

I think the last thing we need is another video streaming service. However, I certainly wouldn’t count Facebook out. It’s Facebook, after all.

Will you be trying Facebook Watch? Let us know in the comments below.