Facebook will soon be available on the Apple TV, Fire TV, and other devices “soon”, the social network confirmed today. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the upcoming Apple TV app will focus on video playback with personalization features and will launch soon.
“Our video app for TV is a new way to enjoy Facebook videos on a bigger screen. […] With the app, you can watch videos shared by friends or Pages you follow, top live videos from around the world, and recommended videos based on your interests. You can also catch up on videos you’ve saved to watch later, as well as revisit videos you’ve watched, shared or uploaded.” Facebook product manager Dana Sittler and engineering manager Alex Li wrote in announcing the new features in a blog post Tuesday.
Facebook already has a official Photos and Videos app for Roku players.
Facebook is also working on original content. A effort that is being led by Ricky Van Veen, Facebook’s head of global creative strategy, who joined the social giant earlier this year from CollegeHumor. Van Veen last week hired Mina Lefevre, MTV’s executive VP and head of scripted development, as head of development for original programming.
Here is everything we learned from Facebook’s announcement from today:
- Autoplay videos in News Feed will now play with the sound on, assuming your phone is not on silent. (You can disable this feature in settings.)
- Facebook is adding a picture-in-picture feature so you can watch videos while continuing to scroll through News Feed.
- Facebook is rolling out vertical video viewing to all users iOS and Android users. Facebook had already been testing this, and claims users were “more likely to watch vertical videos for longer and with the sound on.” Facebook mentioned this on its business blog Tuesday, a clear sign that it hopes advertisers will look at vertical video ads down the line.
Source: Recode
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