Netflix and Facebook Share a Board Member

Thursday Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings joined the board of directors at Facebook. This is an interesting pair considering the rivalry seen between the two media giants once Facebook made a video streaming deal with Warner Bros. last month. This, of course, may also be the reason for the quick partnership.

It only seems natural that the biggest names in online movies and socializing would join forces as young people are the largest audience for both markets. The socializing between Facebook friends over recommended movies and TV shows could greatly increase the traffic to Netflix and give users another reason to log on to the social media site for hours. Friends already share thoughts on everything they do via the internet – why not add movies in too?

The joining of these two forces could be big as both already share their applications over all major devices – home gaming consoles, tablets, phones and of course computers. This could mean major investment jumps for both brands – Netflix has already seen a rise in interest in its shares.

Facebook’s ability as a video rental site has already been established via the Warner Bros. renting system which uses Facebook “credits” to purchase movies. This ability combined with Microsoft’s dabbling in a Facebook partnership via partial ownership could make Facebook the powerhouse that could take down larger rival Google.

Coincidentally – or not so much– Hastings is also a Microsoft board member. This link between these big companies could lead to some major power plays soon to come, the first of which is said to appear quite soon: Facebook will be opening its shares to the public early next year.

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