More than a decade after its launch, Youtube seems to finally have encountered a formidable competitor in the form of Facebook. The social media behemoth has announced that is going to start sharing advertising revenue with video creators such as Fox Sports, the NBA, and even Funny or die. This marks the first time Facebook has introduced an initiative such as this, but the selling point from the company is easier to understand. Post your video on our platform, and you will receive a portion of the money generated from your content.

This could prove troublesome for Youtube as they have stood largely unopposed in the digital video market for quite some time. Facebook has already seen success in getting content to their platform due to its wide reach. Now, Youtube has lost its only competitive advantage. Youtube has utilized a 55/45 revenue split for over five years now with the 55 percent ending up in the hands of the content creator. The benefit of opting for Facebook is that people are already on this platform, sharing content with friends and family. The potential audience is simply larger as everything will be in one place.

It should be noted that this initiative is not applicable to everyone posting a video on Facebook, at least to begin with. The social media giant will release a brand new featured named Suggested Videos that will show users exclusive video. Like most things on Facebook, this feature will incorporate an algorithm that ensures the videos are being seen by a relevant and interested audience. For example, if you select a video from a friend, you will likely be exposed similar personal videos. But if you click on a piece of content from, say, the NBA, then other branded videos will likely appear.

The introduction of this feature and revenue sharing is the most recent in series of moves that demonstrates Facebook’s commitment to establishing itself as the premier player in the digital video market. The company has also made alterations to its News Feed algorithm that places a heavier emphasis on videos. As of April, there are four billion daily views on Facebook. This is a marked jump from the 1 billion daily views in the fall of 2014.