Not surprisingly, Facebook isn't commenting on the apparent leak.

It doesn't take much divination to understand why Facebook would sign up these brands: if it's going to make a big deal out of original videos, it needs to cater to the audiences that already spend lots of time on its pages. And they may well be receptive, too. Although it's still uncertain just how much money they'll really make (Facebook is reportedly promising a 55 percent share from ads on shorter clips), they may be reassured knowing that they'll make money even if people steal their videos. Whatever short-term uncertainty they face could easily be worthwhile given the many, many potential viewers.