Facebook has opened its doors to another partnership with regard to online videos. The social media giant has confirmed on Dec. 24, Wednesday, that it is partnering with the National Football League, starting with a small sponsored video test feature.
NFL's first test video was put on live on Tuesday morning right on the NFL Facebook page. It featured the two side by side touchdowns by Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. The post asked readers and fans to post comments on the clip.
There is also a short 10 seconds advertisement for Verizon Wireless which follows right after the 33 seconds highlight clip on FB. A Verizon banner can also be seen at the bottom part of the screen. A link to download the NFL Mobile app is also available for readers, and fans to click. For only 20hours after posting, around 3 million people views have already been recorded.
Facebook spokesperson stated that this test will be evaluated more to see how users, marketers, and publishers would react to this type of partnership video contents.
The online social media company has been trying to find professional videos and contents they can be presented to its 1.35 billion users since video advertising is more effective than those of the old school text and image based advertisements.
NFL has shown promo videos and interviews to its Facebook page before, however, posting a game highlights the league itself and protects distribution of what are in the page. The visibility of such videos is on custom default where it can be seen only to specific regions and specified fans.
Besides the highlights of previous games, NFL may also post news or fantasy football.