Facebook To Start Running Mid-Video Ads
Content creators have been complaining about the fact that there’s no way to monetize their content on Facebook the way you can on YouTube. Those days look to be coming to an end, however, as industry insiders now say that Facebook will start testing mid-video ads soon. As with YouTube, the revenue from the ads will be shared with the content owner. The bad news is that the revenue split is the same as YouTube, with Facebook taking 45%, a figure that artists and labels feel is way too low.
The catch is that the viewer has to watch the video for 20 second before the ad runs. It will be interesting to see how many people abandon the video at that time. The length of the video must be at least 90 seconds long to be able to insert an ad.
Why, mid-video? Apparently that directive came from the top, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg hates pre-roll ads and forbid them from happening on Facebook videos.
This will again bring up the question of what exactly constitutes a “video view” on Facebook. Right now its any time a viewer watches a video for at least 3 seconds, even with the sound off or if she didn’t click on it. With the new 20 second metric, you can be sure that video views will be looked at differently in the future on the platform.
The good news here is the fact that Facebook will finally reward content creators with some revenue for sharing their work. The bad news is that the split is controversially low and will certainly be a major talking point in licensing discussions with labels and publishers.
