Danish software company Xstream has created one of the first Video On Demand Facebook applications for Nordisk Film’s Facebook page (soon to be available). The customized VOD apps will allow Facebook members within the Nordic countries to rent and stream episodes of films and shows, in HD quality, directly within the Facebook canvas, as well as full screen viewing. The PR push for this integration really highlights Nordisk’s streaming rights to the Twilight series, and it’s not hard to imagine why. Some people love their Facebook and Twilight, and what can beat Twilight in your Facebook?
The Facebook VOD apps enable viewers to rent and watch movies, share with friends, comment on, and chat about what they’re watching in real-time. Users can pay for the content by credit cards, Facebook credits, and even as a cellphone payment. Xstream’s streaming product, MediaMaker, encrypts the content with Microsoft PlayReady DRM or whatever other DRM is needed.
Integration into Facebook my be the key for companies that are trying to take movies and TV “social” by going where the eyeballs already are. Brynhild Vinskei, CMO at Xstream says, “There’s no social platform better suited to making your unique content accessible to a large, targeted audience than Facebook. I think we’ll certainly see more content owners and distributors take advantage of Facebook as an additional platform for distribution of live and on-demand video content and with Xstream’s MediaMaker solution they can do that quickly and cost-effectively.”
