Obama interview setback unlikely to deter Facebook from targeting YouTube (FB, GOOG, GOOGL)
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President Barack Obama broke Facebook. Sort of.
The Facebook Live stream of BuzzFeed News' interview with Obama froze two minutes into the broadcast before the President even showed up on the screen, according to Mashable. It's not clear what caused Facebook Live to freeze, though technological issues are the most likely culprit.
This issue, which occurred during arguably Facebook Live's most important stream ever, represents a huge missed opportunity for the social media giant. Marketing for the event touted it as the President's first interview on Facebook Live, but after the technical glitch, BuzzFeed had to tell users to continue watching the stream on YouTube, which was also streaming the interview.
YouTube's live stream continued uninterrupted and has attracted more than 800,000 views since it first aired. As a result, YouTube comes out of this situation on top, which is a huge blow to Facebook as it tries to unseat YouTube as the king of video.
From a publisher's standpoint, Facebook Live's problems here demonstrate the need to not rely on a single platform for live streaming and content distribution.
But this setback is unlikely to deter Facebook from trying to dethrone YouTube. The social media giant has been spending considerable resources trying to become the go-to name in video across both desktop and mobile, especially as mobile viewing becomes more popular.
Margaret Boland, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile video that takes a look at how short-form mobile video has exploded. The report examines how YouTube, the historically dominant force in short-form video, was slow to implement a mobile video strategy, opening the door for new players —namely Facebook and Snapchat — to emerge.
It also takes a look at how winners will begin to emerge in distinct video content categories. YouTube, for instance, will rely heavily on its homegrown YouTube stars to distinguish its video library and drive loyalty. Facebook will become the go-to place for brands and media companies to engage with the largest audience. And Snapchat will utilize its live-events coverage and exclusive content to promote video communication among younger mobile audiences.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- The rise in mobile video viewing can be attributed to several factors: an increase in overall time spent on mobile, the convenience of on-demand viewing, a preference for digital video viewing, and the increased availability of mobile video content.
- As video becomes mobile-first, YouTube's hold on the short-form video industry is waning. The number of videos that are uploaded to the platform per month has remained stagnant over the past year, according to Socialbakers data shared with BI Intelligence.
- Facebook is in the best position to upset YouTube as the go-to place for brand and media companies to upload videos and for users to watch these videos. Although Snapchat may not be competing with Facebook and YouTube on video volume, the app is changing how consumers, brands, and publishers are using mobile video for communication, news and entertainment, and live-event coverage.
In full, the report:
- Maps out the rise of mobile video viewing and lays out the main drivers of this trend.
- Examines why YouTube's hold on the short-form video industry is waning as viewers migrate to mobile viewing.
- Illustrates the dramatic increase in the number of videos that brands and media companies are publishing to Facebook over the past year.
- Forecasts the number of videos that US brands and media companies will publish to both Facebook and YouTube in 2016.
- Explains how Snapchat is able to compete with larger video platforms and is changing how brands, media companies, and consumers are using mobile video.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the rapidly changing world of mobile video.