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Making Video More Interactive

June 19, 2018

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June 19, 2018
Our vision is to make video on Facebook truly interactive. Watching video doesn't have to be a passive, one-way broadcast. We believe that many traditional formats — from game shows to reality TV and even scripted content — can be reinvented to be more participatory and community-centric. Talk shows have historically used studio audiences to create interactivity, but imagine if the entire viewing audience could participate in the content together. Videos become more meaningful when people are active participants in the stories, and as viewing habits evolve, we want to enable content that's two-way.
Today, we're announcing new ways for creators and publishers to create interactive videos. We're starting with polling for both Live and on demand videos, as well as gamification for Live. With these tools, our partners can add a range of new interactive features to videos such as: polls, quiz questions, challenges, and more. These can all be used within an individual video or to create a standalone game show. We're giving creators a blank canvas to allow them to do what they do best — create! — and we can't wait to see how they innovate.
Polling lets partners add questions with a set of answers, to quickly and easily get their fans' opinions — from asking them to vote on their favorite character in a show, getting their advice on what to do next in the video, or even bringing to life old favorites like “Two Truths and a Lie.” The new Watch show Help Us Get Married was the first to test polling as a key component of their series, enabling viewers to vote to decide how the participating couples would plan wedding details like venue and theme.
Gamification introduces gameplay: the partner creates a set of questions with each having one correct answer, and people get eliminated from the game when they answer incorrectly. This will help a range of formats come to life, like a live trivia show where fans compete to see who knows the most about a particular topic or perhaps a direct competition between creators and their superfans on a topic of choice.
In the coming weeks, a range of creators will begin to incorporate polling and gamification into their shows and videos, including Brent Rivera and That Chick Angel. We're also excited to share that new interactive game shows will be launching in the coming weeks on Facebook Watch, enabling people to come together and challenge themselves:
  • Confetti by INSIDER: A live interactive game show made in partnership with INSIDER that will air daily. It will challenge people to answer pop culture trivia questions alongside — and with the help of — their friends. Players can see which friends are playing at the same time, and be able to see how friends answered questions. Players who answer all questions correctly may be eligible to split a cash prize.
  • Outside Your Bubble by BuzzFeed News: An all-new game show made in partnership with BuzzFeed News that challenges contestants to step outside their “bubble” and reach across the cultural divide to guess what their opponents on the other side are really thinking.
  • What's in The Box by Fresno: A live and participatory game show, made in partnership with Fresno, where viewers can win prizes for correctly guessing the contents of a closed box. It’s simple. It’s goofy. It’s tons of fun.
We're excited to see how different creators are going to engage their community in entirely new ways with these tools by getting their fans to influence the content or play games with others while watching. We can't wait to see creators invent new genres we haven't even thought about. We'll be listening to feedback from our community as we continue to evolve these tools and build additional features. Creators and publishers interested in getting early access can register their interest here.

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