Facebook video app for STBs
February 15, 2017
Facebook has unveiled a new app for set-top boxes that will allow users to stream videos on their TVs. This includes saved videos and videos shared by pages or friends from user’s Facebook accounts, as well as Facebook’s recommended videos, and top live videos from around the world.
The app will roll out “soon” on Amazon’s Fire TV, Samsung Smart TVs, and Apple TV, with more platforms to be announced soon.
“A lot of people when they’re watching video in news feed during the day will save it for later, because they don’t have time to watch,” commented Facebook VP of Partnerships Dan Rose at Recode’s Code Media conference. “Now it’s easy to watch on your TV if you want to do that. We want people to be able to consume content wherever they are – whether it’s on their phone, whether it’s on their computer — and TV is just another screen for that.”
The social media giant has also announced that Facebook users can now stream videos in a corner of the screen as they continue scrolling through their newsfeeds. Videos will also autoplay with sound (they have played in silence unless the user chooses otherwise until now).