Facebook’s long-rumored deal with publishers such as The New York Times, Buzzfeed, NBC News and National Geographic to publish their content directly on its platform, could start Wednesday, according to a report in New York Magazine. The articles can be accessed in the News Feed section of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
Facebook, a new news source
With this feature, Facebook will take a step toward a major transformation in how stories reach people, and the move is expected to drastically increase readership for the articles chosen. Pew Research Center found in a recent survey that 30% of Americans are already reading more and more news from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
Initially, publishers will post only a few articles, but eventually the numbers will grow, says the report. iPhone users will be able to access glossy cover photos and videos tagged with map coordinates. Facebook claims that for users who are always on their toes, articles will load 10 times faster than the normal speed, giving them a good reason to stay on the platform rather than navigating to other sources.
What’s the deal between Facebook (FB) and publishers?
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has kept the development largely under wraps for now. However, still there are doubts about the number of articles that will be published on the platform each day and how much the news creators will be paid. As per the report, the Times is cautious in negotiating with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) as it already has over one million subscribers who pay to get access to the full material.
The largest social networking site reportedly accepted some unusual terms to bring more publishers into the program, the details of which were revealed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal previously. The decision to sell or embed an ad has been left to publishers. They can either keep all the revenue to themselves or allow Facebook to sell them and keep 30% of the proceeds. Additionally, the social networking company is allowing news companies to collect the data of users reading the articles with the same tools they use to track visitors on their sites, says the report.
