Facebook could challenge Netflix, Hulu with its own foray into TV


Facebook is dipping its toe into the TV-streaming waters, The Wall Street Journal reports. People familiar with the decision told the Journal that the social media giant is contemplating challenging a space dominated by Netflix and Hulu with a TV app for "television set-top boxes" like Apple TV. Facebook is also looking to license its own original video content.
"Facebook said last summer that its main advertising platform, the Newsfeed, is running out of advertising inventory," Axios writes in its analysis. "To increase revenue, they introduced new video features and began testing video mid-roll ads and Instagram story ads. While these features could help Facebook combat what is supposed to be a slow growth year, a long-term content licensing strategy will present a more sustained approach to capturing part of the $70 billion TV ad market."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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