Legal trouble: Facebook's decision to quit streaming linked to Netflix's interests? Deets inside

Facebook no longer creates original programming, and Facebook Watch is no longer accessible as a video-streaming service. Facebook's streaming business, which was formerly viewed as competition for the likes of YouTube and Netflix, is essentially dead. According to a complaint, Facebook and Netflix's advertising arrangement caused the division to be shut down within the massive social networking company.

Meta's dilema 

According to reports, court documents from Meta's antitrust case, which were previously sealed, indicate that Facebook nearly shut down Facebook Watch in order to preserve its advertising connection with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. The streaming company's downfall has been connected to Facebook's cost-cutting measures, which included employment reductions beginning in November 2022.

Subpoeanas to the CEO's

Get the CEOs of Facebook and Netflix to answer subpoenas. According to reports, the letter requests that Reed Hastings, the founder and former CEO of Netflix, answer a subpoena for records that plaintiffs assert are pertinent to the lawsuit. According to the letter, Netflix and Facebook had an exceptionally close connection because of Facebook's marketing budget and Hastings' seat on the board. "There is no significant mystery as to how this close partnership arose, or who served as its steward: Netflix's then-CEO, Reed Hastings, directly oversaw the firm's relationship with Facebook from 2011 until 2019," the filed statement stated.

Facebook watch in jeoprady! 

In order to get original TV shows from movie icons like Bill Murray to its streaming service, Facebook Watch started making arrangements in 2017. The service made an attempt to license Dawson's Creek, a well-liked TV series from the 1990s, a year later. Facebook Watch boasted an enormous budget along with a significant reach on the social media platform's home screen. As board members of Facebook and Netflix seemed set to clash in the streaming space, the cofounder of Netflix found himself caught in the midst.

These previously undisclosed court documents purportedly stem from a class action antitrust lawsuit brought against Meta, initially observed on X by Jason Kint. The complaint claims that Meta has a monopoly in the social media industry and was allegedly filed on behalf of marketers and consumers.