Facebook Watch, a YouTube Competitor, is Pivoting To Older Audiences as Teens Tune Out and Publishers Balk (cnbc.com)

As Facebook struggles to find an audience for its YouTube competitor, Watch, the company has been talking to some media companies about focusing its efforts on audiences 30 years and older instead of teens and younger millennials. From a report: The move signals more troubles for Facebook's video ambitions. Expansion in video, messaging, and Stories are key for the future of Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a call with analysts in October.

Comments

Facebook has this?

[jwhyche]

Facebook has a youtube competitor? First time I've heard of it. Then again, that might be part of the problem. That, and its facebook.

Re:Facebook has this?

[Oswald McWeany]

Facebook has a youtube competitor? First time I've heard of it. Then again, that might be part of the problem. That, and its facebook.

It's always hard to topple a dominant player that has attained critical mass.

Google Plus tried to be facebook. Failed.
Facebook tried to be YouTube. Failed.

There is just too much content already on the opposite platform, unless there is a compelling reason for people to switch, they won't.

Re:Facebook has this?

[markdavis]

>" Facebook has a youtube competitor? First time I've heard of it. Then again, that might be part of the problem. That, and its facebook."

+1 Never heard of it.

And it is guaranteed to be a failure if, like everything else Facebook, you need to "log in" to watch anything. At least with YouTube, you can watch almost anything you want, without a login, and even anonymously. That is a HUGE advantage that I can't see Facebook matching.... ever.

Some Facebook users already send me links to things on Facebook, which I cannot see because I have never and will never have a Facebook login. I usually just tell them they need to share things that aren't locked up in some anti-privacy vault! Fortunately, thus far, I have yet for there to be anything important enough for me to care in the least that I can't get to whatever it was.

Re:Facebook has this?

[Trailer Trash]

Facebook has a youtube competitor? First time I've heard of it. Then again, that might be part of the problem. That, and its facebook.

Came here to say the same thing. I have a FB account that I actually check once or twice a week. The fact that I've never heard of "Watch" is simply amazing.

Re:Facebook has this?

[Oligonicella]

Sorry, small correction for you - "It's facebook and that." One usually lists the major problem first.

Re:Facebook has this?

[jwhyche]

No problem. I stand corrected.

trust

[bigtreeman]

pity us oldies just don't trust FaceAche

Geezer here... how do I sign up?

[mspohr]

I'm an old geezer and I want to watch.
How do I sign up for this "Facebook" thingy?

Catch-22

[DontBeAMoran]

Teens and younger millennials are leaving Facebook, audiences 30 years+ are smart enough to have never trusted Facebook in the first place.

That leaves the even older audiences still using Facebook, but those are old enough to still watch cable/satellite and don't care about online videos.

As always, Facebook did a great job researching their target market!

Re:Catch-22

[lucasnate1]

Audiences 30 years+ are smart enough to have never trusted Facebook in the first place.

Is this really like that in the US? In my country, Facebook is the home of 30+ hipsters who have become so used to communicate by witty statuses (which, in my country, are gradually replacing journalism) and "ironic" selfies. I seriously suspect that most of them will have problem communicating with people without Facebook.

Re:Catch-22

[DontBeAMoran]

Is this really like that in the US?

I do not know, I do not live there.

Re:Catch-22

[lucasnate1]

My apologies. Well, in that case, care to say about which country you're talking about? I'm Israeli.

Re:Catch-22

[Actually, I do RTFA]

It's assumed that most people in the US over late-20's have a FB account, and under that a Snap account. There are a lot of people who have such an account and publish nothing, and a lot more who have an account and publish everything.

Re:Catch-22

[DontBeAMoran]

I'll let you guess, eh?

Re:Catch-22

[Trailer Trash]

That leaves the even older audiences still using Facebook, but those are old enough to still watch cable/satellite and don't care about online videos.

Even my stepfather left FB, and my mother never signed up. It's 50 year olds at this point, and I know that because my classmates tend to still be there.

Re:Catch-22

[Oligonicella]

You come from the land of tundra....
Where some are French and some are other.....

Re:Catch-22

[rtb61]

The biggest problem with teens and millennials leaving facebook and middle agers taking their place, facebook becomes totally uncool and lame to younger audiences and those remaining. Like, eww, your'e on Facebook, why, just why, you desperate for poseur likes. The middle will get sick of the attention facebook demands and they will drop it. Facebook is becoming myspace, next marketing platform social media bait website, please step forward, whom ever that may be. As duckduckgo for google, so ? for Facebook.

Re:Catch-22

[scottrocket]

Yeah they can wave hello to Friendster on the way out.

Re:Catch-22

[DontBeAMoran]

Comment did you guess, eh?

Re:Catch-22

[Oligonicella]

Oblique, but yes.

Signs of Facebook.com's death

[rsborg]

Mark has realized his idea-child's growth may be malignant instead of benign.

As an aside, I'm wondering if the new content rules in the EU may have influenced this at all.

no time for that

[AndyKron]

Facebook Watch? Never heard of it. Back to the Insight landing!

Zuckerberg himself is now an old guy

[xack]

He has aged out of the advertiser friendly 18-34 range and must now embrace his old uncoolness.

I've been on Facebook for 10 years

[OrangeTide]

And I've never heard of "Facebook Watch". I am their target demographic and I didn't know about it until today. For a company built on advertising and market research, they seem to fail at it a lot.

Re:I've been on Facebook for 10 years

[OrangeTide]

I don't think I could have found it without that description. It seems like a stealthy feature. To be honest I don't see any major difference between what YouTube does and what Facebook is trying to do. I have no love for either of those businesses.

Good luck with that

[WillAffleckUW]

Most young people are totally disinterested in anything that has Facebook controlling it.

Finally, a way to "friend" Pewdiepie

[TomR teh Pirate]

Just when you thought you couldn't get any dumber, social media companies step in to help

After they blackballed conservatives

[Crashmarik]

They have decided to go after an older demographic.

Sounds well thought out.

Not there yet

[PPH]

You'll know you've reached the older demographic when they have to whack the monitor whenever the vertical hold goes wonky.

Re:"Your rumors of my death have been..."

[webmistressrachel]

This post is sadly missing any reference to my hook nose. You could do better...

Re:JOOZ!

[Zontar The Mindless]

Hi APK,

It was pretty obvious that you were responsible for this screed, but thanks for confirming.

Creators don't care because walled garden

[Anonymous Coward]

Facebook Watch requires a Facebook login. If I'm a content creator, I want to publish on a platform that makes it easy for eyeballs to see - all kinds of eyeballs - with or without accounts. ... and this is YouTube, not Facebook Watch walled-garden, which prioritizes Facebook monetizing the eyeballs over the publishers monetizing their content.

Re:Just stop

[hawguy]

Just stop using Facebook garbage. Do you guys really think Zuckerberg (Mr. everybody else is an idiot) deserves to be so rich? Then stop using his bullshit.

I think that's the problem Facebook is facing -- the lucrative young market has already stopped using Facebook so now they are chasing after the less valuable older users

Re:You people need to STOP BULLYING ME... apk

[Zontar The Mindless]

I have never threatened you in any way, and you and I both know it.