Facebook's live streaming feature may soon resemble traditional television—mainly due to ad breaks. The social network confirmed Tuesday that it is testing a new ad format that can be "inserted" into a Facebook live stream as a 15-second break.

Ads in live streams

Publishers have been wondering for months how Facebook plans to monetize its live streams, and the ongoing tests are likely the answer to that question. The platform has not yet disclosed potential revenue from the new ad format, but it is currently working with BuzzFeed and New York Times, paying them for content they deliver.

Rules of broadcast and Facebook's approach

Ads—up to 15 seconds long—can be placed at any point during a live stream, but only after at least five minutes have elapsed. Facebook avoids placing ads before video content, as done by platforms like YouTube.

According to the platform, this approach is too distracting and discourages users from watching the actual content. Currently, video ads on Facebook typically appear only after the second or third viewing of a piece. Inserting ads during a live stream would therefore be a natural extension of this strategy.

Summary

Facebook has confirmed testing a new ad format for live streams: up to 15-second breaks that can appear at any time but not before five minutes have passed since the stream started. This is the answer to how the platform plans to monetize streaming, a question publishers have been grappling with for months.

The tests involve BuzzFeed and New York Times, for whom Facebook pays for content. The platform avoids pre-roll ads, viewing them as distracting—currently, ads appear only after the second or third view. Inserting ads mid-stream is thus a natural consequence of this approach and a step toward a model familiar from traditional TV.