Video streaming site TV.com is integrating Facebook Connect, allowing Facebook members to sign up to watch its streamed TV shows and other content using their Facebook membership details. Facebook members will be able to login to the video streaming site and share content such as reviews, quotes and ratings with their friends on the social network.
The CBS-owned TV site may be able to take advantage of the integration to help it make up ground on chief rival Hulu. Hulu has a far higher media profile than TV.com and its user base has grown rapidly to more than 8m since its public launch last year. However, Hulu’s lead is not unassailable and Facebook integration is expected to draw more users to the site, a factor that may hurry Hulu’s own efforts to open itself up to Facebook Connect. Hulu users can sign into Facebook Connect once they have registered with Hulu, but the process is less likely to draw in new viewers.
Hulu, which is joint-owned by News Corp, NBC Universal and Disney, is currently in negotiations to launch in a number of countries outside the US. Hulu is currently only available in the US while TV.com shows a limited range of content in countries including the UK, New Zealand and Canada.
StrategyEye's related categories: Online Video, Social Networks - Consumer
StrategyEye's related companies: CBS Corporation, Facebook
