Currently, Netflix is the single largest bandwidth user on the Internet, accounting for over a third — 38% — of all online traffic during peak evening hours. Although HBO Go, Hulu, and other streaming services have tried to compete, no one has able to steal the crown from Netflix. Facebook, however, after dominating the social media industry for years, could potentially pose a threat to Netflix in the future.
According to Investopedia, Facebook recently hired Mina Lefevre, the former head of scripted development at Viacom, the company that ran MTV Networks. Lefevre will help the company transition from a social media powerhouse to a “video-first” company by creating compelling video content.
“We want people to think of Facebook as a place for interesting and relevant video content from professional creators as well as their friends,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Quartz reports that since 2014, Zuckerberg has continually stressed the importance of video playing a role in the company’s future. Hiring Lefevre is a major move for Facebook, but one that has stayed in line with some of the other decisions the company has made in recent months.
Facebook is currently developing an app for set-top boxes that will allow users to watch potential studio-quality videos from Facebook on the television. In addition, Facebook confirmed late in 2016 that it’s in talks with major studios in an attempt to acquire licensing deals for content that could soon appear in Facebook’s video tab.
According to Tech Crunch, Facebook used Instagram to help secure and revolutionize the photography market and could soon do the same for video.
“We’re focusing more on shorter form content to start,” Zuckerberg added. “Over the longer term… people will experiment with longer forms of video as well as all kinds of different things.”