We already know how keen Facebook is to make you share videos on its social network, but it also wants you to view more videos. To that end, it is reportedly working to bring its clips to T-Mobile’s Binge On program, which lets the cellular carrier’s customers watch mobile video from its partners without using data.
Popular services such as Netflix, HBO, and ESPN are already part of Binge On, but the kicker for Facebook may have been YouTube’s inclusion in March. Since the launch of Facebook Live in January, the social network has been busy trying to build a broadcasting platform — complete with media channels, celebrity creators, and game streams — that can match Google’s video giant. Losing more potential viewers to YouTube is the last thing Facebook wants, and a consumer-focused service such as Binge On could be a boon for its burgeoning live-streaming feature.
For its part, T-Mobile has welcomed one and all platforms to its walled garden, but the technicalities of integrating videos into the program requires some work. That is reportedly what is holding Facebook up at present, according to Recode.
Rumors of a data-centric partnership between Facebook and T-Mobile have cropped up in the past. In March, some of the carrier’s customers noticed a new “Free data” message inside the Facebook app, but nothing was ever announced publicly.
T-Mobile recently added a ton of new partners to its ever-expanding Binge On program, among them PBS, Dailymotion Games, and e-sports broadcaster Azubu. Consequently, the service now boasts a vast range of entertainment, from popular TV shows such as Game of Thrones to documentaries, and sports content. T-Mobile claims that its Binge On users have streamed more than 500 million collective hours of video thus far. It’s no wonder Facebook wants a piece of that pie.
