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Facebook to target long-form video content

Mark Zuckerberg looks to add “some anchor content” for Facebook's video tab

Following on from Twitter’s announcement of new programming deals earlier this week, Facebook has now confirmed it is looking to develop long-form video content on its recently-introduced video tab.

While discussing the social media giant’s Q1 2017 earnings report, CFO David Wehner told journalists: “We are looking at kick starting an ecosystem for longer-form content on Facebook.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added the company’s goal is to add “some anchor content” for the video tab.

No further firm details have been revealed, although Zuckerberg did say the site may look to Twitter and its deal with the NFL. “Sports is probably something that we will want to try at some point,” he said. The idea is to establish Facebook as not just a place where people would go to catch up on the news and their friends, but also a “destination for video viewing.”

Wehner said that video impressions grew 32 per cent in Q1. That would be lower than in other quarters, something that Wehner in part attributed to recently-instituted tweaks that give more weight to longer-form videos in the newsfeed.

In terms of revenue, the US is still the site’s biggest revenue generator, where the company generated $17.07 of revenue with each and every user during the quarter, an increase of 37 per cent over the same quarter last year. In Europe, revenue per user grew almost equally strong, shooting up 36 per cent to $5.42 per head.