Content area
Full Text
Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube may still hold the top position for monthly views, but its newest competition for content creators should have it a bit worried. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) said it will now share revenue from ads with video creators like Funny or Die, NBA and others. However, the social media giant wasn't clear on who exactly can participate, and its revenue split has some wonky caveats, raising concerns among some publishers.
The ads will run alongside such videos beginning this fall, according to a Re/code story, which called the revenue sharing strategy a "full-on attack against YouTube."
Facebook isn't the first online video site besides YouTube to offer ad revenue sharing; Vessel, a startup founded by former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar (and a 2015 Fierce 15 winner (http://www.fierceonlinevideo.com/special-reports/vessel-web-video-online-video-startups-fierce-15-2015)) offers generous ad splits in exchange for temporary exclusive rights to content, for example. But Facebook says it offers one thing that YouTube can't: Its users don't have to hunt for videos, or follow a creator's Facebook page, to get content that will interest them.