If you think your Facebook news feeds are already cluttered with advertising, it’s about to get even more noisy. The social network will begin selling video advertising, a move that could give a challenge to the billion dollar TV advertising business.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which confirmed that the ads will start appearing Thursday. They will be seen on both the web and on the mobile Facebook app. The volume for each ad will be turned off, although the video will start immediately when you log on.
Among the first ads will be a teaser clip for Lionsgate’s Divergent, a new film the studio behind The Hunger Games has high hopes for.
According to ZDNet, it’s not currently known how long each ad will be, but some reports put it at 15 seconds.
Facebook did confirm the reports with a blog post today, noting that after each clip ends, there will be options to watch more clips from the same advertizer. The company also noted that on mobile devices, the clips will be pre-downloaded so they don’t use up your data plan when you’re not connected to WiFi.
Facebook didn’t say how much it would charge for these ads though. However, sources for the WSJ said in August that Facebook is hoping to charge $2 million a day to reach all users in the 18 to 54 demographic.
image: Facebook