After a successful run renting "The Dark Knight" over Facebook, Warner Brothers has decided to offer five more movies over the social network, the studio announced on Sunday.
The studio will offer "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," "Inception," "Life as We Know It" and "Yogi Bear." The movies will be streamed on the studio's movie fan pages.
Fans will be able to rent via each individual movie's fan page by clicking on a "watch now" icon.
The initiative is the first major studio foray into renting full-length movies over a social network, rather than a streaming service such as Netflix.
Read also: Warner to Rent Movies on Facebook
“We’re pleased to expand our test with a variety of titles that will appeal to a broad audience,” said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “These titles have substantial followings on Facebook. The Fan Pages for ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Inception’ alone are two of the most popular and active communities on the site.”
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Here's the full press release:
BURBANK, CALIF., March 27, 2011 – Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, announced it will expand its test offering of movies for rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook Movie Pages. Starting today at 10:00 pm Pacific Time / 1:00 am Eastern Time, consumers will be able to rent five additional titles directly through each film’s official Facebook Page using Facebook Credits. The films include “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “Inception,” “Life as We Know It” and “Yogi Bear.”
To rent a film, consumers simply click on the “watch now” icon to apply their Facebook Credits, and within seconds they will begin enjoying the film. This offering is presently available only to consumers in the United States.
“We’re pleased to expand our test with a variety of titles that will appeal to a broad audience,” said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “These titles have substantial followings on Facebook. The Fan Pages for ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Inception’ alone are two of the most popular and active communities on the site.”
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.
