Warner Bros. and Facebook take on Netflix

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It wasn’t three weeks ago when Warner Bros. announced “App Editions” of its feature films, like this Inception iPad and iPhone app. But you know what’s cooler than delivering movies to more than 100 million Apple device owners? Delivering them to 600 million Facebook users.

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution announced today that it will begin testing streaming rentals via Facebook pages. So if you “like” The Dark Knight on Facebook, you can now “watch” Christopher Nolan’s bat sequel … for 30 Facebook credits, that is. Thirty credits translates to $3 for US customers, and the rental will last 48 hours.

From the release:

Fans will have full control over the film while watching it through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours from purchase.  They can choose to watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing it when they log back into Facebook.  Consumers will also have full Facebook functionality including the ability to post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.

The Dark Knight is just the first film that Warner Bros. will distribute via Facebook. They promised that additional titles will be made available for rental–and purchase–on a regular basis over the coming months.

So what does this mean for Netflix?

With Warner Bros. looking to deliver bigger blockbuster movies outside of its back catalog deal with Netflix and Starz pushing for a tiered pricing structure, the days of inexpensive, unlimited online streaming may be coming to an end.

Netflix was once worth every cent of its $7.99 price tag for movie lovers looking for classics and back catalog titles. But even Hulu Plus offers access to the grandest of film catalogs, Criterion Collection, now. If Netflix isn’t competitive in back catalog titles or new release movies, well, let’s not even speculate on what could happen.