It looks like a fair amount of people are checking out LaVar Ball on Facebook.
Facebook’s Watch — its budding video platform — is off to a strong start, according to a new study from Morgan Stanley.
Forty percent of Facebook users check out clips on a weekly basis, according to analysts Brian Nowak and Ben Swinburne. Watch launched last August, with the social network streaming hundreds of shows — including content from A&E, Vox, Thrillist, and debuting shows like “Ball in the Family,” following around Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball and his zany family.
And Facebook — often more associated with an older crowd than Instagram, its trendy photo app — will be happy to see Watch is performing well with a younger demo; 40 percent of 16-34 year-olds check out Watch on a daily basis. Short form content (20 minutes or less) has been the most popular on Facebook, Morgan Stanley pointed out.
“We are encouraged (and admittedly surprised) by this early Watch traction as it speaks to [Facebook’s] ability to drive adoption of new products,” said Nowak and Swinburne. “We view Watch (and video) as the next key long-term driver of FB engagement and monetization.”
The data was pulled in December, with Morgan Stanley surveying 1,400 Americans, aged 16 and older.
YouTube remains the king of the online video hill, however, 78 percent of respondents watch YouTube on a weekly basis — and one out of four saying they watch at least an hour each day.
