Facebook is hoping to challenge Twitter’s Periscope live-streaming app before Periscope gets any bigger. While Periscope is currently available for all Twitter users, Facebook’s version is only available for celebrities at the moment.
The app, simply titled Live, was announced by Facebook product manager Vadim Lavrusik today and is available only through Facebook Mentions, another app that is only available for celebrities. However, the content they post is available for all Facebook users to like and comment on.
“Live is an immersive and authentic way to connect with the public figures you care about, in real-time,” Lavrusik wrote. “If you don’t catch the live broadcast, you can also watch the video later on the public figure’s Page.”
Facebook is hoping that several stars use Live as soon as possible. The social network urged users to look for live broadcasts from actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson; NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt; Martha Stewart; singers Ashley Tisdale, Michael Buble and Luke Bryan; soccer star Ricardo Kaka; and tennis star Serena Williams.
This move comes as Facebook is trying more and more to find ways to keep users on Facebook and only on Facebook. The social network has been adding more video content, which has been a contentious point. Hank Green of the VlogBrothers accused Facebook of not paying content creators and letting others repost videos without permission.
According to Variety, Facebook says that it is working to give content creators abilities to notify of infringing users.
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