Facebook dabbles in multi-screen streaming
The social media platform wants to take its video content a step—and a screen—farther. Execs have launched a new way to cast the platform’s content on users’ TVs. Here’s the gist.
By Kevin Allen | Posted: October 17, 2016
In its latest effort to take on YouTube, Facebook has introduced the ability to cast videos from your News Feed onto your television.
Facebook product director Brent Ayrey says the feature reinforces Facebook’s mission to keep users connected:
Video on Facebook helps you to connect with the people and stories you care about every day, whether you’re watching personal moments from your friends, learning how to cook delicious meals or keeping tabs on the latest election news. We’re focused on creating video experiences that people want, and we’ve heard that people want different options for how and where they watch videos that they discover on Facebook.
Users must have Apple TV, an AirPlay device, Google Chromecast or Google Cast Services to stream their feeds.
The feature is already available for Apple devices and is coming to Android soon. Apple users will notice a TV icon in the top right of their videos that they can tap to transfer their feed footage onto their screens.
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Perhaps the most important feature—which is similar to YouTube’s app—is the ability to scroll through your News Feed while the video plays on your TV.
Here’s how it works, from Facebook's newsroom:
The new feature won’t permit users to queue up non-Facebook video content just yet. YouTube has allowed this feature for years, and it could be a next step for Facebook.
Do you think the feature can take Facebook’s video advertising to new heights?
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