Facebook tests splitting News Feed

In a test, Facebook has divided its News Feed in two — a move that could force some publishers to increase ad spending on the social network to keep their content flowing in front of the same number of eyeballs.

The test, running in six overseas markets, divides the news feeds into one focused on friends and family and the second on pages the customer has liked.

If newspapers, sports leagues and others want to be seen in the family and friend feed, they might have to advertise — a move that would likely increase Face- book’s ad revenue.

The test is being run in Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Slovakia, Serbia, Guatemala and Cambodia.

Some industry observers worry that if the same formula reaches the US it could put a dent in traffic numbers, as Facebook drives a lot of sites’ traffic.

“If they make major changes to their feed and companies see a big drop in traffic, it could be a problem for publishers and others, such as e-commerce companies,” said Joe Mohen, a digital consultant.

A pay-to-play format could be especially detrimental to cash-strapped smaller publishers who couldn’t afford to pay, and it would be harder for nonpaying video to go viral.

Facebook insists there are no current plans to expand the test to the US.

“It’s not global, and there are no plans to be,” said Adam Mosseri, vice president of News Feed at Facebook.

“People often tell us they want more from friends so we’re testing two feeds, one for friend content and another dedicated to page content,” tweeted Mosseri.

Asked how long the test would last, he said, “Likely months, as it can take that long for people to adapt, but we’ll be looking to improve the experience in the meantime.”