Facebook is looking to share its data about the online social chatter surrounding television shows with Australian networks.
Earlier this week the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> reported that Facebook had begun sharing data with the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC networks and a number of other media partners.
The reports offer data to TV networks about Facebook interactions relating to their shows. At the moment, the figures in the reports contain limited information, but the WSJ reported that Facebook plans to increase the amount of information offered to networks.
The process is essentially Facebook "leasing its API" to media partners, an Australian spokesperson for Facebook said.
"We're absolutely looking to do that here in Australia," the spokesperson said.
"We're hoping to make some announcements quite soon with the local TV networks."
Facebook had previously done some work with Trendrr on measuring TV show-related chatter, said Helen Crossley, measurement and insights lead for Facebook Australia and NZ.
"We went to them and said, 'Look there's a lot of noise in the market about chatter, about buzz, about what people are talking about on Facebook and we really need a neutral, unbiased third party to come in and say this is the true state of play and this is where those conversations are really happening and what people are talking about.'"
Earlier this year Trendrr produced a report based on Facebook's data that revealed the scale of show-related discussion on the social network. However, Twitter purchased Trendrr in August.
"Since then we've kind of gone back to the drawing board, thinking about how we can get more information, more data, out into the market and this is certainly one way that we can do that – by providing access to the API for certain media partners," Crossley said.
Helen Crossley will be speaking at the Data Strategy Symposium in NSW in November.
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