Netflix gets more social with Facebook

Netflix Inc. has unveiled new social features to make it easier for subscribers to discover new TV shows and movies and discuss them with their friends.

Starting Wednesday, subscribers to Netflix’s streaming service can link their accounts to Facebook, allowing them to see what their friends have watched. Through this integration, new recommendations will appear in the subscriber’s Netflix queue under rows labeled “Friends’ Favorites” and “Watched by your friends.”

In a nod to privacy considerations, Netflix subscribers can opt to share what they’ve watched only within the Netflix experience -- or choose to share viewing information on Facebook.

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All Netflix subscribers will have access to these features by the end of the week, the company said.

“There are few better ways to find a movie or TV series you’ll love than hearing about it from your friends,” Netflix product vice president Tom Willerer said in a statement. “Facebook already makes it easy for our international members to connect with friends over TV shows and movies and we’re thrilled to now bring this experience to our U.S. members.”

The new features follow a recent a change in U.S. law, which had barred services from disclosing an individual’s video viewing habits.

As the features are rolled out, Netflix subscribers will see an option on the service to connect to Facebook and agree to share information about what they’ve been watching. After making that choice, rows of movies and TV programs watched by friends will display within the lists of recommendations.

By default, this viewing information will be contained within the Netflix universe. Subscribers can share the information more broadly on Facebook by changing their “social settings” on Netflix.com.

“Over the years, Netflix has deepened its Facebook integration to enable people to discover movies through friends and to share what they’re watching,” Facebook director of platform partnerships Justin Osofsky said in a statement. “With their integration, Netflix has a new opportunity to reach more than one billion people on Facebook.”

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