First, there was a major motion picture about Facebook. Now, there’s a major motion picture on Facebook.
The social network announced a deal with Warner Bros. that will allow its users to rent films to watch through its interface. This puts the Zuckerberg in competition with the likes of Netflix as it demos the new service with a trial presentation of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s second Batman feature.
Here’s the chatter on Facebook movies:
“To see the movie, you have to click like on the page. Then, clicking on the wall post about the flick on WB’s wall fires up a permission window for an application called Watch The Dark Knight. Paying the $3 or 30 credits entitles you to watch the film as many times as you want over a 48-hour period.”
“Facebook is already the fastest-growing video service, so adding movies and, one would presume, TV episodes, should accelerate that. Facebook was the sixth-largest video provider in January, according to ComScore, ahead of Microsoft, Turner and Hulu. Unlike Hulu or YouTube, Facebook (thanks to Zynga) already has a robust credits marketplace made up largely of people buying virtual goods for games like Farmville and Mafia Wars… Facebook takes a 30% cut of credits transactions, just like iTunes. Still, if Facebook allows studios to sell their wares directly and set their terms, there’s no reason its catalog won’t expand quickly.”
“We do not know at this stage how the film looks visually, but you will be able to watch it in full screen mode and there are standard playback controls available allowing you to pause and resume within the given time period. Additionally, while you are watching the film you still have full Facebook functionality so you can post comments and view friends’ statuses as you would do normally. Warner Bros aim is to roll out both rental and purchase options over the next few months with a lot more titles to choose from.”
Hayley Tsukayama @ The Washington Post
“There are a couple catches. For one, the offer isn’t valid in all states. Second, to watch the movie, users have to essentially allow Warner Bros. permissions to your account just like any other app. If you don’t allow the app access to your information, which includes your demographics, list of friends and any shared information, you can’t watch the movie. Agreeing to grant those permissions gives you access to the movie for 48 hours, during which you can play and pause and, of course, keep sharing and posting to Facebook.”
Gregory White @ Business Insider
“After nearly 2 hours of trading, Netflix shares are down nearly 4.9% on the Facebook news…Netflix shares [were] down over 4% in the pre-market today, likely on fears Facebook may creep into their space. The company’s share price has been sliding since February 11, on concerns competitors like Amazon may eat into its market share.”
“In its current state, we doubt Netflix, Amazon and the rest have anything to worry about as far as competition, but maybe Warner thinks it can snag a few bucks from simply making sure there’s a buy button of some kind awaiting our various identities in as many places as possible. “
