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Facebook targets YouTube with revenue share for video contributors

Facebook is hoping to entice video creators to share more content to the social network by offering cash as well as exposure.

The move, which targets YouTube’s market dominance, gives content owners the chance to earn a share of the revenue for any pre-roll ads sold against the video.

Facebook says, unlike YouTube, it is able to present videos to its users rather than the viewer having to seek out the content.

A lot of [our partners] have said this will be a big motivation to start publishing a lot more video content to Facebook,” Dan Rose, Facebook’s VP of partnerships, told Re/code. “That’s exactly what we’re hoping for.”

Another leg up for Facebook is the potential to offer ‘Suggested Videos’ within the News Feed. These clips will sit within a portion of the feed dedicated to video content.

As explained by Re/Code, Facebook users will be sent to the Suggested Video page whenever they click on a video they see within their feed. So, for example, if you’re into homebrewing see a video, you’ll be taken to a page featuring similar content.

That could mean videos from the same content producer or brand, or subject.

Each of these videos will have pre-roll ads, which allows Facebook to start spreading the wealth with contributors. Auto-playing videos will continue into the next clip, with the 55 per cent cut distributed depending on how many videos the viewer stays for.

The feature will start hitting iOS devices soon, while Android and Facebook on the web will see it later this year.

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