The new service will feature some live events that Facebook has acquired streaming rights for, including a weekly Major League Baseball game. Other shows will be produced by video partners including National Geographic, Time Inc., NASA and the NBA.
The shows that have been announced suggest that Facebook is primarily taking its cues from YouTube. A blog post about the new Facebook service stressed that it is organized around "friends and communities."
Users will be able to personalize their feeds and follow shows they like, much like YouTube's channel subscription model. They will also be able to comment in real time, and a tab will show what their friends are watching.
Facebook will initially make the platform available on its desktop and app versions to a "limited group of people" in the United States, before rolling it out globally.
