Facebook plans to invest $1B in original video content

A report by The Wall Street Journal states Facebook is planing to invest up to $1 billion over the next year on original video content. The report mentions many industry sources that are familiar with Facebook's video push.

For those who are not aware, video push is a part of the effort Facebook take to dominate the video segment and become a one-stop place for movies, TV series and other video content. Basically, the social network giant is looking for new ways to generate more revenues. It is pretty unclear at the moment, whether Facebook wants an ad-sharing model or subscription business model to earn profit from original video content.

To brush our memories, Facebook had also earlier shown interest to enter the fray of video content hub. A couple of months ago it was was reported that the company was ready shell out as much as $3 million in each episode of original video meant for distribution through Facebook's platform. Around the same time, another rumor came up suggesting the budget for Facebook's video content initiative was increased significantly.

However, Facebook was also believed to find ways to keep the cost of production limited to several millions for each episode.

In related news, Facebook recently started testing for a suggestions-based video tab that was added to its Android app. The app seems to be an exclusive for the Indian users. The tab just gives recommendations of a wide variety of video content. It is denoted by a video icon, which is placed between Friends and Notifications shortcuts in the top navigation bar.