Netflix Partners With Facebook: Online Video Service Giant to Make Online Watching Experience More Social For U.S. Subscribers

Netflix, the world’s largest online service provider is now offering its U.S. subscribers the ability to peek into each other’s digital movie libraries in a long-awaited partnership with social network behemoth, Facebook, Bloomberg’s Cliff Edwards and Eric Engleman report.

The feature, which has been made available to non-U.S. subscribers since 2011, will open to all users in the U.S. beginning today. Users who choose to take advantage of the latest add-on will need to opt-in. After doing so, they will see two rows on their Netflix home page that show friends’ activities, and will have the option to post films or television shows to Facebook and comment on them.

Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings lobbied Congress to change U.S. law and put his alliance with Facebook into full effect. With about $5 billion in long-term content obligations, he is counting on the social component to increase word-of-mouth about Netflix’s growing digital library and build loyalty to the $7.99-a-month subscription service.

In a January interview, Hastings, 52, says, “Social is going to be everything. Our kids are way more social than us; their kids will be way more social than them. You tell your friends about what you watch and they’ll watch much more of what we offer.”

All of Netflix’s 27 million members will have access to social features by the end of this week, said Joris Evers, a spokesman. Users who opt-in will see “Friends’ Favorites” and “Watched by Your Friends” rows added on their Netflix home page.

Adding social features on Netflix was made possible by changes to the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, which kept movie-rental companies from sharing people’s viewing records. Hastings successful lobbying efforts led to the Congress changing the law. Incidentally, it was passed after a newspaper obtained and published Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video-rental history.

Netflix’s share rose 0.9 percent to $182.11 yesterday in New York. Shares have almost doubled this year on new content deals and original programming such as “House of Cards.” The company is gearing up to stream four more originals by this summer, including “Arrested Development” which has a strong cult following in mainstream media.

It will also continue to aggressively pursue social updates, according to Tom Willerer, vice president of product innovation. Netflix is testing individual profiles, available as soon as this year, that deliver a more accurate view of people’s viewing habits, the company executive said.

Depending on the outcome of the research, viewers may also get the ability to post viewing choices with a “share” button inside video streams.