Facebook launches 'Watch' with original videos to rival YouTube and TV

Facebook's battle to become number one destination for original TV shows begins as it launched its redesigned video platform- Watch tab yesterday. It features original programming financed by Facebook, alongside videos from other creators, in a tab that will become personalized to your interests over time.

Watch comes with personalized recommendations of live and recorded shows to watch, plus categories like “Most Talked About,” “What’s Making People Laugh” and “Shows Your Friends Are Watching.” Publishers can also share their shows to the News Feed to help people discover them. A Watchlist feature lets you subscribe to updates on new episodes of your favorite shows. Fans can connect with each other and creators through a new feature that links shows to Groups.

Shows available at launch include Nas Daily, featuring a creator who makes a daily video with his fans; Gabby Bernstein, an interactive show from the motivational speaker; and Kitchen Little, from publisher Tastemade, which follows kids making recipes with professional chefs. Facebook also reached a deal with Major League Baseball to broadcast one live game per week.

Only a small percentage of users will see the new Watch tab in the Facebook app immediately after it's officially unveiled on Thursday. But, Facebook plans to slowly make it available to everyone in the coming weeks. It will begin replacing the current video tab for users in Facebook’s apps for Android, iOS, the web, and television.