Sky says it will be adding regular video to the new Facebook Live service.
Lucien Bowater, Sky’s digital director says the results from early experiments have been impressive. In the 24 hours after its release 100,000 people viewed Michael Atherton’s exclusive interview with cricketers Freddie Flintoff and Kumar Sangakkara at the T20 World Cup. Similar numbers watched Mark Stone’s live report on the migrant crisis in Calais.
“The platform works for us because it allows our news and sports teams to connect with the audience in a slightly different way – offering a different perspective, one that might not otherwise be possible in such a fast moving environment,” said Bowater in a blog post.
Facebook’s move into video began in the United States in January and will shortly replace the Messenger button on the social networking site’s portals.
It’s perceived as a direct rival to Twitter’s Periscope, allowing user generated content, as well as the major broadcasters.
Sky has already run Instant Articles on Facebook, but Bowater says the focus will increasingly be on video.
In the past three months, Sky has achieved close to 370 million video views, and in January, Sky News was one of the most watched Facebook video publishers in the world.
