Audio Video News

Facebook has announced plans to launch a free app in the coming weeks that will let owners of Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TVs watch Facebook videos on the big screen.

The move is in keeping with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s desire to have Facebook become the place to go when users “want to watch videos or want to keep up to date with what’s going on with their favorite show.”

“A lot of people, when they’re watching video on News Feed during the day, will save it for later because they don’t have time to watch that three-minute video,” said Facebook’s Dan Rose at last week’s Code Media conference. “Now it’s easy to go on your TV if you want to do that at night."

The app won’t include ads “at this time,” according to a report in Recode, but it’s clear that turning video views into ad dollars is a longer term goal.

Facebook included a preview of how the app will work in a recent post on its news page:

“Our video app for TV is a new way to enjoy Facebook videos on a bigger screen. Last year we rolled out the ability for you to stream videos from Facebook to your TV, and today’s announcement expands this capability. 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. We look forward to seeing how people use the app to enjoy Facebook videos in a new way.”