The company has now intimated Mentions (The app where “Live” resides) will be rolled out to Verified Profiles “soon”. But Facebook is betting on its scale and the massive existing followings of public figures on its platform to leapfrog competitors.

“Live” allows a live video stream to be broadcast on Facebook.

Expanding the availability of Facebook Mentions to the media would give journalists powerful tools to enhance their coverage.

While having a verified profile was already a prerequisite for using the Mentions app, actual access to its set of features was limited to certain public figures like musicians, actors and athletes, approved on a case-by-case basis. The users watch in real-time and submit comments that appear on the broadcaster’s screen. The social site debuted Live on August 5, but at the time, it was only available to some celebrities like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Martha Stewart, and Michael Bublé. Facebook knows what it is doing, it wasn’t a mistake that Facebook started Live with VIPs – the endgame will see Facebook rolling out Live to all users in a move that will cut Twitter’s Periscope off at the knees and challenge Google’s YouTube for fresh content.

Increased watch time suggests that both viewers and live-streamers (dubbed “broadcasters” by the service) are finding value in Periscope, and that the quality of the streams is improving, the service said. The new live video stream app is completely different from the Facebook Live interview series. Some have used it to hold real-time video Q&As, others have made announcements. The streams will be shown in News Feed to people who have liked the broadcasters Page. With Facebook already edging on the horizon, Periscope will have to introduce newer features in order to keep its users from migrating to other services.

The expansion brings Facebook Live broadcasting one step closer to universal access. More celebrities will be sharing videos to Facebook Live every day.