The world's biggest online social network is said to be working on an app for television set-top boxes, including  Apple TV. This happens as Facebook targets to compete for TV advertising revenue. The company is believed to be moving on from shorter videos and live video to extended form higher-quality videos that may include original programming.

New App As A Platform To Boost Revenue

An app for set-top boxes would bring Facebook nearer to live video and video advertisements. Gaining advertisers to buy more video ads is key to Facebook's continued revenue progression. Such ads fetch higher rates than photo or text-based posts.

Live video is also starting to become a highly competitive feature on social platforms, with companies breaking out to stream major sports events and exclusive video components from high-profile happenings, such as the Grammy and Oscar awards shows, writes The Indian Express.

"Earlier this year, we started rolling out the Video tab. Our objective is to kick start an ecosystem of partner content for the tab, that takes advantage of mobile and the social interaction exclusive to Facebook," said Ricky Van Veen, head of global creative strategy at Facebook.   The goal is to show people what is feasible on the platform and learn as it continues to work with video partners around the world, he continued.

Second Biggest In Digital Advertising

According to Fox News Tech, Facebook is already the second-biggest player in digital advertising, next to Alphabet Inc.'s Google. But the social-media giant said last November that its key source of revenue, the news feed, was running out of room for more ads.

There's no confirmation when Facebook's app designed for television sets could be launched as of this writing, but the development has reportedly been in high gear since the second half of 2016. For now, we wait for an official announcement from Facebook itself.