The popular social media site, Facebook, could soon become an extremely popular movie rental site. They have tied up with Hollywood giant Warner Bros. to digitally rent movies through their site.
Warner Bros. is the first studio to go in for this kind of service on a social network. The partnership makes a lot of sense. Users are likely to watch movies on Facebook and ‘Like’ them, thereby immediately letting their friends know about the movie and allowing those friends to watch the movie right there.
The Batman movie, The Dark Knight, will be the first feature film to be rented out on Facebook.
The official Facebook page for the movie shows a tab called, ‘Watch’. When users click on the tab / link, they will be able to view the movie. Users will be able to pay for the rental through their Facebook credits. The cost of the movie has been fixed at 30 Facebook credits or $3.
Viewers will have the facility to watch the movie at their convenience over the next 48 hours. Movies will be viewable in full-screen mode. The viewer will also be able pause and resume the movie at will. If the viewer exits Facebook, returning to the official Batman: The Dark Knight fan page and selecting the Watch tab will resume the movie. Alternatively, users can select The Dark Knight application that appears on the left side of their Facebook profile page to re-open the video player window.
It will also be possible for users to update their status, post comments and interact with Facebook friends while watching the movie.
President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, Thomas Gewecke says, “Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people. Making 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 world’s largest social network.”
Considering the fact that box office collections have gradually been falling, this could be a new source of revenue generation for the studios.
It is also good for the viewers as it gives them the facility to watch a movie at their convenience, within the website that they spend most time on. It could also be very economical for them as more than one person can see the movie at a time.
This service is only being introduced in the U.S. for now, and other titles will be added later.
Watch The Dark Knight on Facebook
