Facebook eyes greater engagement in India by launching live game show

The social media platform is bringing its live game show Confetti to India on the Facebook Watch platform to increase engagement among users.

Social media platform Facebook is set to launch its game show 'Confetti' on Facebook Watch on June 12 in an attempt to increase engagement among users. The show was first introduced in the United Stated and then taken to other countries including United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam, and Philippines.

The game show, which includes questions on pop trivia will air live on Facebook Watch, Facebook’s dedicated video platform, from Wednesdays to Sundays. The time of the live telecast will be announced on a later date, as will the show host.

Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India said, “We are excited to share our vision for social video and how we are building towards it by launching our global interactive gameshow Confetti, in India. Confetti combines the power of traditional entertainment formats with the social, exciting elements of video on Facebook. This is our first official show in India and we are excited to see how it will enable users to engage better and bring communities together around exceptional, interactive video experiences on Facebook.”

Facebook has tied up with producer Freemantle, the company behind shows like Indian Idol, Savdhan India, and X Factor India among others. The live game show is the social media platform’s first official show on the Facebook Watch platform, and will allow users to participate in the daily quiz in real time. The prize money, Rs 3 lakh, will be divided equally among the participants who answer all the questions correctly. In case no participant manages the feat on a given day, the prize money rolls over to the next day, adding to the total cash pot. There is no participation fee.

The platform has tied up with payment gateways to enable the transfer of the cash prize to the winning parties.

Facebook’s attempt at encouraging social viewing follows attempts by over-the-top (OTT) service providers like Hotstar, which introduced the social viewing feature for this year’s Vivo Indian Premier League. In case of Facebook, trivia-fans can play on their own, but can also involve friends and family by playing together as Confetti allows user to see what their friends are answering during gameplay. The duration of the live show will be under 30 minutes, and the platform hopes to rope anyone who owns a smartphone and uses Facebook on said phone.