Facebook News, a section dedicated to news stories and related content on Facebook, is launching in the UK.
UK is the second market which will be seeing the option for Facebook News, that was launched in the United States last year.
Tech Giants And Media Publishers
Many major news publishers, including Channel 4, Sky News, and The Guardian have signed deals with Facebook to provide content.
It comes as the relationship between the technology industry and the media has been further explored.
Google last week threatened to exit Australia if it was forced by law to enter into trade agreements with media publishers – something Facebook has also expressed concern about.
And French publishers have recently agreed to work with Google on how the new EU copyright law regarding news content should be applied.
Facebook News is the social network’s own attempt to address the long-running friction between it and news publishers, as advertising spend has increasingly moved to the large tech firms instead of individual news outlets.
The new feature is expected to appear live on Tuesday afternoon, Facebook said.
Custom News Content
A new feature is a dedicated tab within the Facebook mobile app, which is accessible by tapping the three-line icon with multiple options.
The tab includes a combination of major daily news and “personalized” stories selected by each user based on their interests, as determined by the Facebook algorithm.
Facebook claims to pay publishers for”for content that is not already on the platform”, and says the feature will also provide publishers with new advertising and subscription “opportunities”.
That may be based on data from the United States, which Facebook claims shows more than 95% of the traffic in Facebook News comes from people who have never read those publications before.
The social network says the new product is a “a multi-year investment that puts original journalism in front of new audiences”.
And news organisations, for which new readers are often in short supply, are signing up.
In November, when it first announced that the feature was coming in the UK, big names like The Economist, The Independent, and Cosmopolitan were already in place.
Ahead of Tuesday’s launch, The Daily Mail, the Financial Times and the Telegraph were announced, among others.
BBC News has not signed a commercial agreement with Facebook News, but it may continue to appear on the tab via social media on Facebook.
Will It Launch Else Where Too?
Facebook also claims that the new product is a direct result of discussions with the media, which has been the subject of much debate.
The tech giant is responsible for driving more traffic around the internet, and a story that works well on Facebook will often attract more readers than the one which does not.
But Facebook has also made frequent changes to its algorithms over the years that have affected news organizations, sometimes with little regard. It also encouraged organizations to use its features such as quick articles, or to create video content on Facebook.
However, it sees Facebook News as a better solution than previous attempts, and one plans to transfer to other countries – including France and Germany – soon.
“Our goal has always been to find the best ways to support the industry in building sustainable business models,” Facebook said on its blog about the UK launch.
“As we invest heavily in news, and pay publishers for more content in many countries, we will work with them to support the long-term functioning of newsrooms.”
