Facebook is planning to join the ranks of major streaming content providers by beginning to offer online movie rentals. Warner Bros has already been announced as Facebook’s first official partner in the effort, with the company making The Dark Knight available through the movie’s official Facebook page. According to Peter Kafka of All Things Digital, “Every digital heavyweight is making a play for your living room.” He adds that Facebook already has designed on possibly challenging Apple, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and everyone in the digital content streaming space. Although only one film will be made available in the initial test run, Wall Street reacted to the news Tuesday as traders began selling shares of Netflix in anticipation of Facebook’s growth in the world of digital video rentals. It should also be noted that Apple’s shares only rose $0.19 on a day when equities and, particularly tech stocks, were strong, although it would be inaccurate to pin Apple’s flat session entirely on the Facebook announcement. Regardless, expectations surrounding Facebook’s announcement and effort are high. For now, the cost of a Facebook movie rental is 30 Facebook credits, which is roughly equivalent to $3. Once a film is rented, users have 48 hours from the time of purchase to watch it in their browser. All of the Facebook functions such as poking, liking, etc, will work as usual throughout the rental period. To that end, president of Warner Bros., Thomas Gewecke, says that “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.” As of right now, only time will tell how and if Facebook’s new venture will impact the current video giants such as Netflix and Hulu in the realm of digital content. What do you think of Facebook’s move? Let us know in the comments below! As usual, stay tuned for more tech news and info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feed. [Source: All Things Digital] Authors:

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