Your Facebook news feed may be invaded by auto-playing video ads starting this summer, according to a report by Ad Age. The 15-second spots could cost advertisers as much as $1 million a day.
Citing "executives briefed on the product," Ad Age reports that the ad format is still in flux as the social network searches for a way to draw attention to the ads without disrupting ordinary browsing. Previous reports suggested the ads could be larger than normal news posts and would play automatically — although the audio portion might be muted by default.
Unlike other ads on Facebook, which often appear because of something a user or his or her friends liked or pages they've visited, these video ads would be sold to large demographics divided by gender and age: Males and females, over and under age 30.
The price tag is said to be high: At least $1 million dollars per day, per demographic. If these ads were to prove successful and sell out, it could net billions for Facebook.
Ads have grown increasingly visible over the last year on both desktop and mobile versions of the social network. Even Facebook Home, the company's new total takeover of Android, will have ads "at some point," CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said.
Facebook declined to comment on the reports.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
