Facebook Tests Putting Ads Before Videos Users Want to Watch

Facebook Inc. is going to start putting advertising before videos in its new shows product, called Watch, part of an effort to come up with a lasting business model for the content.

Facebook has expanded the content available on Watch in part by paying creators directly for their shows. If it can build a big enough advertising business, it won’t have to do that anymore. But that future is far off and the company has tweaked its formula already several times.