Report: Facebook To Start Giving Social Data To TV Networks

Facebook is set to start giving data to TV networks showing how much activity about their programs is happening on the world’s biggest social network.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the data will be basic, at least in the beginning, with networks learning how many Facebook users liked, shared or talked about individual shows and how many updates/interactions were made. In the future, Facebook wants to include things like how many users saw those updates.

For Facebook, it’s another attempt at keeping up — or perhaps catching up would be more accurate — with Twitter, which is seen as the public’s default “second screen.” And that position is one reason why brands of all sizes are increasingly looking to Twitter’s ad offerings. (Consider the NFL’s ad deal with Twitter that was just announced last week.)

The WSJ says Facebook’s reports will be sent weekly to “ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS, and a small number of select partners.”