Jordan O'BrienThere’s now another place to enjoy video content on the big screen, with the Facebook Video app now available for Samsung’s 2017 QLED line-up. The app will give users the ability to catch the latest videos straight from the Facebook timeline, as well as the top trending videos on Facebook.
Facebook has made it clear that it is going directly head-to-head with Google in the online video war. Google’s war chest includes YouTube, which is reportedly 10x more popular than both Netflix and Facebook Video – with one billion hours worth of video watched daily. Despite that massive lead, Facebook’s attempt at a video-only app could help propel it to new heights.
The Facebook Video app may have just landed on Samsung’s 2017 QLED line-up, but the app will also be coming to more platforms in the near future. Earlier this year, Facebook promised the app for the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast and other platforms.
YouTube already has streaming apps on most platforms that consumers use, whether it’s set-top boxes like the Nvidia Shield TV, games consoles like the Xbox One or even mobile devices like the iPhone and Google Pixel.
Facebook Video won’t be the only contender going after Google’s crown. Twitter also launched its own video app recently, with it having debuted on Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV and Xbox One.
The problem Facebook has faced with its video platform is monetisation. Until recently Facebook didn’t run ads against the videos shared by its users. The social network recently changed that, however, by rolling-out mid-roll ads.