Facebook’s answer to YouTube, called Watch, launched in August 2017. However, it was a challenge at first for the company to monetize the site, because they had limited the number of Pages that could run ads to high-profile publishers, TV networks and celebrities. This changed in August of this year when Facebook allowed more Pages to run ads on videos that were 3 minutes or longer in length. The number of Facebook Pages that can run video ads went from 3,700 on August 1 to 23,000 this month.

In addition to opening up Pages for advertising, Facebook has also allowed more do-it-yourself video content from comedians, video bloggers and other digital entertainers, as well as their stable of established shows and original programming. This increase in Pages and content creates more spaces for advertisers to place their messaging and more opportunities for Facebook users to access their videos on the Facebook platform.

The latest numbers from Facebook show that more than 75 million people around the world spent at minimum one minute on Watch every day. And these users spent at least 20 minutes there on average. Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk” is currently the most-followed show and the most active Facebook group.

While Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has stated that Watch has hit its stride, it really hasn’t taken off with advertisers yet. Advertisers are not able to specify the program or video their ads appear on. Rather, they are only offered genres or bundles.

Additionally, there are other proven online platforms offering original content, like Amazon, Hulu, Snap and Google. It’s up to Facebook to show people that they are providing a good video experience and are able to generate scale of inventory and audience to their advertisers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/business/media/facebook-watch-advertising.html