Facebook plans to stop paying publishers and other content creators to produce live and on-demand videos.

Under the current program, Facebook pays about 300 publishers, influencers, celebrities, and content creators given they produce a minimum number of minutes per month; live videos must be at least six minutes long, and on-demand videos at least 90 seconds long. Most of the deals Facebook has with publishers will expire by the end of the year or in early 2018.

The pivot away from Facebook Live is surprising given the high level of engagement the videos receive. Facebook Live accounted for 45% of live streamed video as of June 2017, higher than any platform offering live video, according to Magid Advisers, per Media Post. Additionally, Facebook’s Head of Video Fidji Simo announced in April that the amount of time users spent watching Facebook Live videos quadrupled over the past year. The shift from Facebook could be influenced by some publishers’ unwillingness to create live video due to low monetization — in January, many publishers believed the money they made from live videos didn’t warrant the resources it took to produce them, according to Recode.

The move to cut publisher funding for live and short on-demand videos points to Facebook's commitment to Watch. The company is now primarily focused on allocating bigger budgets to a fewer number of longer shows on Watch, according to Digiday.

This strategy could increase Facebook's chances of curating a library of "lean back," TV-like shows, ultimately shifting the way consumers view content on the platform. As a result, Facebook could ultimately better monetize mid-roll ads, which only play after 20 seconds of viewing. By establishing a viewer base that seeks TV-like content, Facebook could also become well positioned to attract US TV ad spend that's being shifted to digital platforms.

Robert Elder, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together a detailed report on social video that:

Assesses the evolving social video landscape, with attention to Facebook, YouTube, Snap, and Instagram.
Analyzes the relative strengths of each platform from a product, distribution, audience, and monetization perspective.
Looks at what’s next for the industry, so that media creators and brands can invest for the future.