Warner Bros. Entertainment said tonight it will enable Facebook fans to rent movies directly on Facebook and watch those movies within the studio&'s movie fan pages.
The new movie distribution method marks an attempt to draw new revenue streams from digital online technology &8212' a top priority for Hollywood studios as traditional box office receipts and television viewing decline. What&'s cool about watching a movie this way &8212' the studio hopes &8212' is that users will share the movie with their friends and watch it in a communal way as if they were going out to the movies together.
Consumers will be able to use Facebook Credits, the social network&'s virtual currency, to rent a title. The program will expand to movie purchases in the near future. Fans who &''liked&'' Christopher Nolan&'s blockbuster film The Dark Knight can rent the film through the offical Facebook page. Fans can click on the &''rent&'' icon, apply their Facebook Credits (or buy them if they don&'t have any), and then start watching the film with in seconds. The cost per rental is 30 Facebook Credits, or $3. The offer only works for U.S. consumers now. More titles will be available in coming months.
a4‚¬AFacebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people,a4‚¬¯ said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.‚ a4‚¬AMaking our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts.‚ It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the worlda4‚¬a4„s largest social network.a4‚¬¯
Fans can watch the film through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours after purchase. They can watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing when they log back into Facebook. They can also post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.
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Companies: Facebook, Warner Bros. Entertainment
People: Thomas Gewecke
Companies: Facebook, Warner Bros. Entertainment
People: Thomas Gewecke
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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