Facebook is testing mid-roll video spots in its live streams from big publishers, as the social network looks for new ways to monetise the popular new trend for user-generated broadcasting.
The social network has been keen to get publishers on board its Live service as it looks to rival Twitter’s Periscope.
The ads are the first to be introduced inside video on the platform, displaying after five minutes of broadcast for up to 15 seconds.
The new format marks the first Facebook ads that will get served directly inside videos on the social network.
Facebook has even been paying publishers and Web celebs to start streaming. The payments were seen as necessary because the platform does not have a mature ad-model for videos that it could share with its partners, who lacked the proper financial incentive to come on board.
Publishers have the ability to control which categories of advertisers can run ads in its channels, with ads appearing five minutes into a broadcast and lasting 15 seconds or less.
Publishers can also opt out of ads altogether, which is possibly important to consider bearing in mind Facebook’s focus on live broadcasts during tragedies.
Facebook Live has grwon in popularity this year, helped in part by the ‘Chewbacca Mom’ video earlier this year, which got more than 100 million views within three days.