Facebook is officially venturing into game shows, creating a new platform on top of its Live video ecosystem especially for it. It's part of a new set of interactive live and on-demand video features the company announced just recently, allowing creators to add quizzes, polls, and many other gaming elements to enhance engagement with audiences.
It's also part of Facebook's mission to make Live videos more meaningful, and a way for people to have healthier video consumption instead of just watching other people go about their lives.
Creators and publishers who want early access can go to Facebook's website and submit an application.
Facebook Wants To Make Live Video Better
"Video is evolving away from just passive consumption to more interactive two-way formats," said Facebook's Fidji Simo, as TechCrunch reports. "We think creators will want to reward people. If this is something that works with Insider and Confetti, we may consider rolling out payments tools."
For the initial lineup, Facebook is partnering with Fresno's What's In The Box, where audiences can guess, well, what's inside the box; BuzzFeed News' Outside Your Bubble, where participants can guess what their opponents are thinking; and INSIDER's Confetti, which appears to be the most interesting show of the bunch, if only for the fact that it lends actual cash prizes.
HQ Trivia Clone?
If that sounds too familiar, it's because there's already an app that functions much of the same way — HQ Trivia, a live video game where viewers can win cash prizes if they answer trivia questions correctly. It's a massive hit among the millennial crowd, and it's quite easy to imagine that Facebook liberally took cues from the app before making its own implementation.
However, the company appears to be cautious of being lumped in with HQ Trivia. When asked if it was inspired by the popular app, it didn't even mention its name.
"I think they're part of a much broader trend that is making content interactive. We've seen that across much more than one player," said Simo.
"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."
Polls and gamification in videos and shows will arrive in the next few weeks, according to Facebook. The interactive shows mentioned above will be available on Facebook Watch, the company's video-focused segment.
