Facebook tests letting you post recorded video as if it's live
With a feature called Premieres, the idea is to give people the ability to interact and experience a new video for the first time together.
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Facebook is testing a new way to post video, called Premieres, that lets you release a prerecorded clip as though it were a live moment, with all the floating emoji and immediate interaction that approach opens up.
Facebook Premieres lets prerecorded video post as though its a live stream, like this clip from FBE Shows, one of the early partners in the test.
The feature will let people experience new videos -- like movie trailers, the company's own Facebook Watch shows, or new clips from people you follow -- alongside other fans together in real time, Fidji Simo, the company's head of video, said in a Facebook profile post Wednesday. It should also allow uploaders more flexibility in how they debut new clips and give them more opportunity to engage with audiences.
Over the last two years, Facebook has prioritized video -- and particularly live video -- in its algorithm recipe for the top of your News Feed. The social network offers a nearly unrivaled audience, but Facebook Live has had its problems, too. As the company made the broadcasting tools more accessible, scenes of violence or objectionable content grew more common.
Simo said Wednesday that Facebook is testing Premieres with a group of video creators, publishers, and shows and will roll it out more broadly soon.
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