• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 5, 2012

What is the value of a "like" on Facebook for TV advertisers? For TV networks, the better question seems to be how much Facebook will essentially charge for that "like."

No one needs to tell entertainment marketers the importance of social media. The number of  "likes" could be a measure to ascertain what it means to view a TV show online or elsewhere.

Surveying comments from friends, near-friends, acquaintances and, increasingly, total strangers is the real key to whether consumers will watch something. And Facebook, according to one report, wants to get a piece of the advertising revenue from future TV and video content running on it.

Good luck, Facebook.

While traditional TV executives are perhaps nervous about the digital world, they surely don't want to give up what they know is of value now and into the future: their content. If you have 2.6 million "likes" for a cable show that pulls in 4 million weekly viewers on traditional TV but around 500,000 Facebook views, how much is that worth to TV programmers and marketers?

Can a business connection be made linking Facebook's proposed "likes" revenue plan to all those networks’ Facebook pages for each show? The theory could be: If you don't do a Facebook deal here, perhaps you don't get a page and thus you get fewer "likes."

Entertainment marketers are already looking for other social media connections in their promotional efforts. Facebook might have a fight on its hands.

A large number of "likes" for a TV show means that viewers will be more inclined to watch that show online or elsewhere. TV marketers do follow Facebook closely to see which shows are trending and which are not.

Facebook realizes TV marketers are more microscopic these days when looking for those temperature swings. Social media can act like traditional TV focus groups for new and ongoing shows. It is this key bit of leverage that Facebook will use to develop a new advertising-revenue-sharing arrangement from big TV marketers.