Facebook to invest $1bn to produce original video content

Doubling down on its video efforts, Facebook is looking to spend around $1 billion to produce original content for its platform. The investment figure could fluctuate based on the success of the content's popularity, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The current leaders in the video streaming space- Netflix and Amazon spend around $6 billion and $4.5 billion respectively.

The social media giant debuted with shows like Business Insider's lifestyle shows--"The Great Cheese Hunt" and "It's Cool, But Does It Really Work?". Facebook is already offering a range of options for discovering video content including programs and sections like "Today's Spotlight", "New This Week", "Popular Now", "What Friends Are Watching", "Most Talked About You", "Suggested For You" and a special "10 Minutes Or More" for long-form videos.

Facebook is now concentrating on highlighting reality shows since they are cheap, do not require any scripts and can be watched piecemeal, the report said.

In a bid to take on Youtube, Facebook launched its Watch Service previous month, which is a redesigned video platform for creators and publishers. The platform features original programming by Facebook, alongside videos from other creators, in a tab that will be personalized to your interests over time.