Warner Bros.' push into social media--it just extended its video-on-demand trial with Facebook by adding five more titles--is getting more serious as the Time Warner property enters advanced negotiations with popular movie ratings site Flixter.
According to the L.A. Times, the studio is now the frontrunner to acquire Flixster after Yahoo, which had been pursuing the property, dropped out. Sources say the price tag for Flixster could be as high as $90 million.
If Warner Bros. acquires Flixster, it would also give the studio access to the Rotten Tomatoes reviews site, which offers users recommendations, ratings and a mobile app that has been a hit among moviegoers.
Warner Bros. earlier this month announced a one-movie deal with Facebook, bringing The Dark Knight to the social networking sites users for 30 Facebook credits ($3). It added five more titles early Monday morning, including a pair of Harry Potter movies, which it also offered for 30 credits for a 48-hour window, and Inception, Life as We Know It, and Yogi Bear, all of which are being offered for 40 credits, or $4.
If Warner Bros. acquires Flixster, it would give the studio another avenue of movie recommendations and niche marketing to specific audiences. It would also give it a new avenue of broad promotion to Flixster's more than 20 million users.
News Corp. owns 20 percent in Flixster after selling Rotten Tomatoes to the company a little over a year ago.
For more:
- see this L. A. Times article
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