Facebook takes fight to YouTube over video content

Facebook 'Likes' video: The social network has been working on its video services for 18 months (Picture: Jeff Chiu, AP)

Angela Jameson

2 July 2015

Facebook is to go head-to-head with YouTube by sharing ad revenues with video content creators for the first time.

The social network wants to attract more partners creating video in a fierce attack on the space that YouTube has dominated for a decade, according to technology website re/code.

Facebook will offer video makers a 55% share of revenue from ads, that play alongside video content.

The payment model will work alongside a new feature which suggests videos to Facebook’s users.

The social network has been pushing video for the last year and a half and daily video views have jumped from one billion last autumn to four billion in April.

Tech experts believe this latest move will encourage more big-name content producers to share work on Facebook, while also creating a new ad revenue stream.

The news comes after a report suggested Facebook is catching up on rival Google, which owns YouTube, when it comes to being the platform of choice for advertisers.

While Google remains the dominant force, the boss of advertising giant WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell, said clients were increasing their spend on Facebook at twice the rate as that on Google, according to the Times.

Facebook takes fight to YouTube over video content

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