(UDHAYAM, CALIFORNIA) – Facebook is to test “mid-roll” video advertising – in which ads are played after a video has already started – the BBC understands.
The ads would probably first appear in Facebook videos by professional publishers, said one analyst.
To date, the social network has resisted allowing “pre-roll” ads that play before a video starts.
Publishers would receive 55% of revenue from mid-roll ad sales, according to tech site Recode.
Facebook declined to comment.
“Advertisers are super keen on video advertising,” said Eleni Marouli, at analyst company IHS Markit.
“If Facebook wants those TV ad dollars, they have to invest more in video.”
Ms Marouli told the BBC she did not think this type of ad would necessarily be more disruptive for users watching video on Facebook, but noted that it would be up to the social network to decide whether the inserted content would be kept brief – shorter than typical TV ads, for example.
Either way, she added, she believed Facebook was keen to increase the revenue it could generate from video content.
Last year, the company admitted that some video viewing statistics had been overestimated by up to 80%. (Courtesy – BBC)
