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Movies Now on Facebook
| Technical by Staff ReporterWarner Bros. and Facebook are offering videos on demand from the popular social networking site
Facebook is investigating another expansion – this time into the world of movies – that could see its users getting videos on demand straight from the site.Warner Bros. Entertainment and Facebook will offer a service where users can rent movies straight from the site using Facebook Credits, perhaps opening the door for a new trend that could crush competitors like Netflix.
The application that will allow users to watch their favourite movies online was developed by Time Warner Inc. independently of Facebook and will be hosted and streamed on a third party website.
The first movie Warner Bros. will offer its fans is Batman: The Dark Knight, and users will have 48 hours to watch the film once they’ve been charged for it.
All users have to do it click the ‘like’ button on their favourite movie (at this point all that is available is The Dark Knight – chosen as it has nearly four million fans on the site) and then hit the ‘watch’ button.
While the rental application may still be in its early stages, it will have huge ramifications for competitors like Netflix and Hulu should it be successful.
According to the Wall Street Journal: “Studios can no longer count on DVD sales and are experimenting with new ways of earning revenue online.
“Last year, U.S. sales of DVDs totaled $7.8 billion, down 43% from their 2006 peak of $13.7 billion, according to media-tracking firm IHS Screen Digest. From 2009 to 2010 alone sales of the discs plunged roughly 20%.”
This data, coupled with the online video watching figures – up 45 percent from last year according to Nielsen Wire – are what have made the move such an enticing one for the organisation.
At this point Facebook is still sitting on the sidelines, allowing itself to be used as a platform for other companies to showcase their material while taking a cut of the sales, but the potential exists for Facebook to create its own online streaming service in the future.
Source: www.bizpremises.co.za
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