First YouTube, now Facebook? Social network giant plans to debut original TV shows

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"Facebook plans to have roughly two-dozen shows for this initial push and has greenlit multiple shows for production, according to people familiar with the discussions," reads the Business Insider report.All this will be added on the Facebook app's video tab. The shows will be split into two categories. On one hand, there will be a small number - on the lines of House of Cards and Scandal - of longer and more prestigious shows. On the other hand, there will be shorter shows (5 to 10-minutes-long) that "refreshes every 24 hours" and are easily digestible. These shows will accompany Facebook's live sports programming. The content will include both scripted and unscripted shows.

All this will be added on the Facebook app's video tab. The shows will be split into two categories. On one hand, there will be a small number - on the lines of House of Cards and Scandal - of longer and more prestigious shows. On the other hand, there will be shorter shows (5 to 10-minutes-long) that "refreshes every 24 hours" and are easily digestible. These shows will accompany Facebook's live sports programming. The content will include both scripted and unscripted shows.

Facebook have tapped CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen and former MTV executive Mina Lefevre to spearhead the efforts. For Facebook, high-quality videos are a way of retaining users and keeping them on the social network for longer periods of time. Facebook also sees this as an opportunity to cash in on the 'in brand adverting' money.

VR dating anyone?

One of the greenlit shows by Facebook is in collaboration with Conde Nast Entertainment. It's a dating show where people will meet in virtual reality before meeting in real life. A-list celebrities have been tapped by the company to star in some of these shows. The Business Insider report even claims that one of the shows has already cast a Hollywood A-lister. Facebook has also held talks with Major League Baseball for streaming games live.

One of the genres Facebook is targeting is teen-centric shows, as a large number of users on the social network fall in the 'youth' category. Further, this sort of content will allow Facebook to heavily target Snapchat's user base, continuing Facebook's long standing obsession with Snapchat. Snapchat has been actively pursuing show deals with many of the same companies as Facebook for its Discover section.

YouTube first, Facebook next?

The Facebook news comes a day after it was reported that YouTube is investing heavily to "produce more than 40 new original shows" that will be free and ad-supported.

"Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Kevin Hart, and Ellen Degeneres are among the stars that have agreed to make new shows for YouTube," according to a report from The Verge. YouTube has plans to build out its YouTube Red service and is giving it a major push.

Before YouTube and Facebook, Twitter detailed its plans to become a 24/7 television hub. The only different is that Twitter doesn't plan to invest in any original content, at least for now.

Will people stay?

With a plethora of streaming services available, it's anybody's guess if Facebook's 2 billion-plus users will seek out the content in the 'video' tab or not. "A concern among partners is that Facebook executives have yet to explain why people will seek out longer shows in the Facebook app's video tab,” said a Facebook executive quoted in the Business Insider report.

Remember, Facebook had launched a standalone video app for Apple TV and other set-top boxes last month, and this could be used as a platform for these new shows. The competition in the space is heating up and with competition comes quality, something that will ultimately be a boon for consumers. With Facebook unveiling shows in time for the Cannes Lions advertising festival, the wait to see what they've come up with won't be a long one.