Facebook Watch Originals Ends as Meta content Head Mina Lefevre leaves, None of your favourite FB watch originals, most notably Red Table Talk, are coming back with new season.

by Santanu




 

Meta has announced that it is shutting down its Facebook Watch original programming, leaving many fans of shows like Red Table Talk disappointed and wondering what will happen next. In this blog post, I will give you a brief overview of what Facebook Watch was, why Meta decided to end it, and what the future holds for some of the popular shows that were on the platform.


Facebook Watch was launched in 2017 as a video-on-demand service that aimed to compete with YouTube and Netflix by offering original content from celebrities, influencers, and media partners. Some of the shows that debuted on Facebook Watch included Sorry for Your Loss, a drama series starring Elizabeth Olsen as a young widow; Simone vs. Herself, a documentary series following gymnast Simone Biles; and Steve on Watch, a talk show hosted by Steve Harvey.


However, the most successful show on Facebook Watch was Red Table Talk, a talk show co-hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow Smith, and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris. The show featured candid conversations about topics such as marriage, mental health, racism, and sexuality, and often attracted millions of views and comments. The show also spawned a spin-off series, Red Table Talk: The Estefans, featuring singer Gloria Estefan and her family.


Despite the popularity of some of these shows, Facebook Watch never really took off as a mainstream destination for video content. According to Variety, Facebook Watch had about 1.25 billion monthly viewers in 2020, but only 140 million of them spent at least one minute per day watching videos on the platform. In comparison, YouTube had over 2 billion monthly logged-in users who watched over one billion hours of video per day.


Meta decided to end Facebook Watch originals as part of its broader cost-cutting measures and its shift to focus on creating virtual reality experiences in Meta Horizon Worlds. Meta Horizon Worlds is a social VR platform that allows users to create and explore immersive worlds with their friends across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Meta believes that VR is the future of social media and entertainment, and wants to invest more resources in developing this technology.


As for the shows that were on Facebook Watch, some of them may find new homes on other platforms. According to Deadline, Westbrook Studios, the production company co-founded by Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, is shopping around Red Table Talk for a new distributor. The show has a loyal fan base of 11 million followers on Facebook and an active discussion group with 600,000 members. It is possible that Red Table Talk could land on a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu, or even on a traditional TV network.


Other shows may not be so lucky. It is unclear if any of the other Facebook Watch originals will be revived or continued elsewhere. Some of them may have already wrapped up their seasons or stories, while others may not have enough demand or interest from other distributors. For now, fans of these shows will have to wait and see if they will ever get to watch new episodes of their favorite Facebook Watch originals again.