Facebook says its Watch shows reach 720 million viewers monthly

Facebook said Wednesday some 720 million people are watching its original video shows, making it a growing part of the social network as it wades into the territory of YouTube and other rivals.

The "Facebook Watch" service has been growing since it was unveiled in 2017, and now includes shows produced by partners such as MTV, CNN and Univision along with others from "creators" like those who make videos for Google-owned YouTube.

Facebook said some 720 million users view at least one minute per month of its videos, and 140 million people use the service daily.

"We are also continuing our strategy of investing in a range of content that encourages conversations and connections," Facebook said in a statement.

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"In addition to our Facebook Watch Originals, we are partnering with publishers and creators around the world so that they can bring timely, relevant and entertaining videos to Facebook Watch."

Facebook generates money from "ad breaks" on its videos, which are available in more than 40 countries and provide revenue to creators and partners, similar to what YouTube does.

The number of pages earning over US$1,000 (S$1,400) in payouts per-month has increased eightfold over the past year, and those earning over US$10,000 has tripled, according to Facebook.

The social network said ad breaks will now be available in Canada, and that it will be adding support for five more languages -- Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Swedish and Telugu.