This is very logical. Starting this year, FB has been experimenting with inserting mid-roll ads in videos[1]. Well, video inventory carries higher CPMs than i

This is very logical. Starting this year, FB has been experimenting with inserting mid-roll ads in videos[1]. Well, video inventory carries higher CPMs than image formats typically, and mid-roll CPMs can be pretty juicy--many people won't skip the video if they are halfway through it. So how do you better align the targeting of your video content with the ads you are serving against it, and create some premium direct buy opportunities (which have even higher CPMs) for big brand advertisers? You guessed it--create your own original video content. This also potentially paves the way for them to test a subscription model with fewer ads (cough Hulu) or no ads. Although I'm not sure that makes sense since FB's advantage is one of Aggregation Theory[2]. If they can deliver awesome ad-supported content for free, they can compete very well against other video services which are vying for a share of people's finite attention and time. The more time you spend watching something on Youtube, Netflix, Hulu or Amazon, the less you are spending on your FB feed. (Actually who are we kidding, everyone has their phones out while watching things these days anyway). [1] http://marketingland.com/watch-facebooks-ad-breaks-non-live-videos-work-208685 http://marketingland.com/watch-facebooks-ad-breaks-non-live-... [2] https://stratechery.com/2015/aggregation-theory/ https://stratechery.com/2015/aggregation-theory/