Facebook Tackles News with Live Programming - Rise and Shine

BBC.co.uk

As if we didn't sink enough time into Facebook's personally-tailored News Feed, the social media giant has announced a livestreamed morning "feed show" is in the works. Thanks to DigitasLBi, a marketing and technology ad agency, Facebook will soon command a new-age news platform. Sans commercials and covering popular topics (weather, exercise, recipes), "Rise and Shine" is set to air three to five times a week, showing personalized segments for each viewer.

In order to guarantee viewership, a Rise and Shine messaging bot will alert subscribers when the program is available for viewing, much in the way Twitch alerts members when streamers are live. The show will appear in the News Feed as well as on a Facebook page. According to Paul Armstrong of Forbes, the show operates much like Snapchat Discover, with brief blips on different topics. Each show will be sponsored and approved by brands of the day, likely varying from show to show.

UnderConsideration

DigitasLBi, based in London, in collaboration with Facebook Creative Shop are hopeful for the project's success. Head of Facebook's Creative Shop Studio Keenan Pridmore in an interview with Adweek says, "It will appear in those morning wake-up hours where you are getting up, you could use a little [content] to keep you going. Something to get you laughing, smiling, thinking."

The project was announced at the Digital Content NewFronts event, with the double agenda of spreading the news and attracting potential brands. That task, finding brands that is, rests entirely on DigitasLBi as does putting together the talent and creating content based around the brands that choose to get involved. With the correct branding is in place, Facebook will no doubt rake in the revenue. In the end, DigitasLBi will own all content created for Rise and Shine.

Rise and Shine could be the groundbreaking, front-runner we've been waiting for. A project that's taken society's infatuation with digital content to produce a cross between television and online videos, spurring a revolutionary movement into a new form of watching.

Thanks to the digital age, traditional morning shows are falling to the wayside as smartphones have edged their way into our beds as alarm clocks. Checking for posts has become a ritual for most, jolting the mind into awareness. As per usual, our habits are being capitalized on by corporations who want nothing more than to feed us brand-sponsored content first thing in the morning. It's not so bad; after all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Woodall Creative Group

Jacqui Litvan

Jacqui Litvan, wielding a bachelor's degree in English, strives to create a world of fantasy amidst the ever-changing landscape of military life. Attempting to become a writer, she fuels herself with coffee (working as a barista) and music (spending free time as a raver).