TV Service FreeCast Offers Facebook App

The new web-based television service FreeCast announced a Facebook app today, letting the social network's members stream TV, movie, and music content from within the site. The service is free to use.

FreeCast's search engine discovers and categorizes 1.5 million new videos each day, the company says. When Facebook members find content they want to watch on the FreeCast app, they click it to get taken to the content provider's site.

Available content comes from TV and cable networks, YouTube, Vimeo, and streaming radio stations.

FreeCast hopes to monetize the free service through advertising.

"Essentially, we'll be offering display advertising opportunities to interested parties. These could include, an on-channel advertisement by the many special interest or local groups who will create many new channels, or something located within our menu and channel guide system. The options really are endless and there are great benefits to come for those who choose to partner with us," says FreeCast's CEO William Mobley.

As more people turn to the web for streaming entertainment, we'll certainly see more companies like FreeCast turn up, attempting to make a business out of categorizing existing content. Any would-be "TV Guides for the Internet" face an uphill battle against better-known companies and those that create original content.