Facebook may soon broadcast original shows

New York: After the success of its Facebook Live feature, Facebook is looking for original TV-like programmes from various genres and may pay hefty amount for it, a media report said.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Facebook was interested in original content from a slew of different genres, from sports to science.

Other categories include pop culture, lifestyle, gaming and teens.

Facebook may go for weekly series and shows that last around 30 minutes.

The social networking giant was willing to pay for the content and could offer in the low- to mid-six-figure range per episode for scripted content.

The report also pointed out that Facebook was staying away from hard news after it faced criticisms during the presidential campaign for allegedly favouring liberal content over conservative content in its news feed and was mired in fake news controversy.

Over the few months, Facebook has rolled out a number of initiatives, including promoting news literacy and developing additional tools to "curb news hoaxes."