You can now watch a video with your friends within Facebook Messenger video calls, or in a Room
It's called Watch Together and it's the new Facebook Messenger feature that everyone has been waiting for: watch a video together with a friend on Messenger, to comment on it together. But not via chat: live video to have the feeling of being together, on the same couch or in the same room to see the same content.
To launch this new service Facebook has involved the fitness trainer Melissa Alcantara, to create a series of video workouts to watch (and do) with their friends. This clearly shows how Facebook Watch Together also has considerable potential to offer creators, as well as ordinary users. Watch Together, moreover, goes to compete directly with Twitch's Watch Parties, which allows users to watch Amazon Prime Video content together. Watching online videos together with friends, therefore, is becoming a service that you can't not offer your users without the risk that they will go looking elsewhere.
Watch Together, how it works
Through Watch Together you can watch videos together with friends with whom we are in a video call on Facebook Messenger, or within a Room. In the first case the maximum number of participants is 8, in the second even 50.
To launch the function just enter Messenger and start a normal video call to the contacts with whom we want to see the video, then you have to swipe up and choose from the menu "Watch Together". At this point you'll be suggested content to watch, but you can also browse categories to search for the video you want to watch together.
It's also possible to choose a video from the ones you've already watched (and this will increase the virality rate of a lot of content) or watch one of the videos you've uploaded to Facebook yourself.
Watch Together for creators
Those who create video content for social by trade will be able to take advantage of Watch Together in many ways. Artists, musicians, DJs and even gym instructors (as evidenced by the choice of Melissa Alcantara as a testimonial) can interact with their fans in real time.
Fans themselves can create a community by meeting on Watch Together to watch the latest video from their favorite creator and comment on it together. Or invite those who don't yet know the creator to watch it, to expand the fan base.