US: Facebook paying for news shows from ABC, CNN, Fox, others

Facebook is to pay for original news shows that will play alongside its news feed, reported Variety.

The company says that the new programs, funded by Facebook and made by the world’s biggest news organisations like ABC and CNN, are part of its new plan to stop the site being filled with misleading and untrustworthy reports.

The initiative is led by Campbell Brown, Facebook’s head of global news partnerships, a former CNN host and NBC News reporter who joined the company in January 2017. “They’re not just cutting up TV and putting it on Facebook,” Brown said. “This is to engage people around news, taking advantage of Facebook’s features.”

Facebook has committed to funding some of the news programs for at least one year (a rep says the deal terms vary in length), but the parties aren’t disclosing what the company is paying for them. The shows will be available in an exclusive window on Facebook Watch. An exec at one partner said the company was quick to approve to their budget request for one of the shows. “They are willing to pay more to work with partners they trust,” said the exec, who requested anonymity because terms of the deals with Facebook are private.

Full Content: Variety

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