With an eye fixed on the “bigger screen,” Facebook confirmed Tuesday that it will soon roll out an app that is optimized for Apple TV boxes, Fire TV devices and Samsung smart TVs, with more platforms on deck.
Facebook last year rolled out a feature that lets users stream videos from Facebook to the TV, but the new TV app “expands this capability,” Facebook product manager Dana Sittler and engineering manager Alex Li announced in this blog post.
“With the app, you can watch videos shared by friends or Pages you follow, top live videos from around the world, and recommended videos based on your interests. You can also catch up on videos you’ve saved to watch later, as well as revisit videos you’ve watched, shared or uploaded, they explained.
The announcement comes on the heels of report from The Wall Street Journal about the new TV-tailored app strategy, which aims to grab more share of video app dollars.
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Video has continued to become a core focus for Facebook, which has just teamed up with Univision to stream select live Mexican soccer matches.
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Facebook also announced a mixture of video-focused updates, including sounds that “fades in” as users scroll through videos in the platform’s News Feed, a larger vertical video windows on mobile phones, and a feature that lets users minimize a video as they scroll through the News Feed.
