Sky via Facebook Live

Sky is set to broadcast its news and sport content via Facebook Live.

The social media site is reportedly paying the UK broadcasting giant to provide content for it's Live service, alongside further deals with Buzzfeed and the New York Times.

Live video content has become a priority for Facebook and Twitter in recent times, illustrated by the latter's acquisition of NFL rights earlier this week.

The initial payment structure is believed to be temporary, as Facebook explores options that will allow itself and its partners to make money from Live, which does not currently carry adverts.

Lucien Bowater, Sky's digital director, said in a blog post, We plan on live broadcasting a great deal of content on Facebook Live, providing a unique behind the scenes look at some major sporting events, and breaking news stories.

We've already been experimenting with it, and the results have been impressive. In less than 24 hours since its release, more than 100,000 people viewed Michael Atherton's exclusive interview with Freddie Flintoff and Kumar Sangakkara at the T20 World Cup.

The platform works for us because it allows our news and sports teams to connect with the audience in a slightly different way - offering a different perspective, one that might not otherwise be possible in such a fast-moving environment.

The news quickly followed on the heels of the announcement of a significant update to Facebook Live.

The new update will allow users to go live' in Facebook groups and events, streaming videos of themselves to specific groups, such as family or a selected group of friends.

Fidji Simo, Facebook product management director, said, Since launching Facebook Live last summer we've been surprised and delighted with how people are using live video to connect and interact with each other all over the world.

We hope this new ability to both broadcast and watch live video within groups and events enables people to connect more deeply with their closest friends, family and the communities of people who share their interests.

The move comes after Facebook research found that users interact ten times more with Facebook Live content than they do with regular videos.

The social media site is also releasing Facebook Live Map for desktop access, which offers a visual, Google Earth-esque way to explore public live broadcasts that are currently happening around the world.

LINK:	http://www.tvbeurope.com/sky-to-broadcast-via-facebook-live/...
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