by Josh Constine (@joshconstine) writing for techcrunch.com
Today Facebook launches its full assault on YouTube with a dedicated hub for watching Live and recorded videos in its mobile app. A Video tab is taking over Messenger’s prime, center spot in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, turning Facebook into a destination for discovering videos catergorized by topic beyond stumbling across them in the feed.
The Video hub heavily features Facebook’s Live broadcasts, and will roll out on iOS and Android in the coming weeks alongside a slew of Live upgrades including:
- Payments to select news publisher partners in exchange for broadcasting on Live instead of their own sites
- Live videos in Groups like your family or people with a specific interest
- Live videos in Events so you can schedule a Q&A or show off a party to invitees who couldn’t come
- Comment Replays that simulate how feedback popped up during Live viewing
- Topic tagging to place your Live video in the right discovery category in the video hub
- Facebook’s six Reaction emojis that fly across the screen visible to viewers and broadcasters, similar to Periscope’s hearts
- Five color filters that can be changed on the fly to improve lighting without equipment
- Viral invites so viewers can notify friends to join the audience
- A Live Map of current broadcasts around the world (Currently on the web only)
- Snapchat-style doodling so broadcasters can draw atop their Live videos (announced but not launching yet)
- Live video audience metrics including the total unique people who watched a video while it was live, and a chart showing how many Live viewers the video at any given moment
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