The Warner Bros. movie The Dark Knight is available for rental on Facebook. This is seen by many as the fist shot fired against Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Users can now use Facebook credits to rent The Dark Knight for $3. No download needed, the movie is streamed directly from the movie’s Facebook fan page. You have up to 48 hours to watch the movie.
Warner Bros. said it also plans to make digital movies available for purchase via Facebook. This is truly a going to be a new social experience for the movie since you can comment right on the movie page. It should be interesting if the movie is in HTML 5 and will it work on mobile devices such as iPad. This would be one way to avoid paying Apple a fee but still have access to their device and loyal user base.
Press release [shorten]
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT BECOMES FIRST HOLLYWOOD STUDIO TO OFFER MOVIES DIRECTLY ON FACEBOOK
MILLIONS OF WARNER BROS. FACEBOOK FANS CAN NOW RENT MOVIES USING FACEBOOK CREDITS AND STREAM WITHIN STUDIO’S MOVIE FAN PAGES
PROGRAM WILL EXPAND TO DIGITAL MOVIE PURCHASES IN THE NEAR FUTURE
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, today announced it will begin testing an offering of selected movies for purchase or rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook movie Pages. Consumers will be able to use Facebook Credits to easily buy or rent a title, all while staying connected to Facebook.
Starting today, millions of fans who “Liked” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film “The Dark Knight” can rent the title through its official Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/darkknight). Consumers simply click on the “rent” icon to apply their Facebook Credits, and within seconds they will begin enjoying the film. The cost per rental is 30 Facebook Credits or $3. This offering is presently available only to consumers in the United States. Additional titles will be made available for rental and purchase on a regular basis over the coming months.
Fans will have full control over the film while watching it through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours from purchase. They can choose to watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing it when they log back into Facebook. Consumers will also have full Facebook functionality including the ability to post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.
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