Facebook is rapidly gaining ground on YouTube, the current leader for video content and advertisements, according to a study by Ampere Analysis.
Facebook has more than quadrupled its quarterly video views, jumping from 77 billion in the third quarter of 2014 to 315 billion in the first quarter of 2015. Though this is not even half of YouTube s quarterly video views — 756 billion in the first quarter of 2015 — Ampere Analysis argues that Facebook is making a serious play for content owners and advertisers. While Facebook is currently viewed as a platform for building brand awareness, Facebook s growth in video views now makes it a viable platform for video ads.
But Google s YouTube has the more flexible and advertiser-friendly model, charging advertisers immediately when an ad is viewed and able to run ads before, during, and after the content, reports Reuters. Facebook charges advertisers once three seconds of the video has been delivered.
If the social network s own video ambitions are to be realized, and if it is to convince content owners it is a viable alternative to YouTube, it must deliver comparable returns, Ampere Research Director Richard Broughton said, according to Reuters.
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has been talking about Snapchat s approach to video ads as well. By 2017, the Internet will be the biggest advertising medium in 12 key markets, all together representing 28% of global ad spends, according to Zenith Optimedia in a recent study.
Photo from Associated Press
