

BBC Worldwide to offer TV episodes to rent for the first time on Facebook - omh
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2011/07_july/dw_facebook.shtml

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jaysonelliot
I was very excited about this until I read the words "Facebook credits" and
"streaming."

If I'm paying for video, I need to be certain that I'll be able to see the
entire thing uninterrupted, even if I'm offline or my connection becomes
unreliable. This is where Apple and Amazon get my money, and streams don't.

The Facebook Credits idea is even worse. Here's the experience:

1\. Go to the Doctor Who page on Facebook. I can't see the content until I
agree to "like" the page. Annoying. What if I just want to see a BBC video?
It's a bit presumptuous to assume I like something I haven't seen yet.

2\. Once I agree that I "like" the page, a small grid of videos appear.
Clicking on any video then redirects me to an app page, telling me that if I
still want to watch a video, "liking" wasn't enough. I now have to grant BBC
access to my private profile data, and allow them to post messages to my wall.

3\. Fine, BBC, I "like" you, and you can come into my house, look at all my
stuff, and talk to my friends on my behalf. Now how do I watch a video?
Facebook Credits. Each video is 15 Credits. Ok, I'll go get some.

4\. I click "watch," and am prompted to go buy some Credits. How do I want to
pay, Visa, Western Union, other? I don't know, how much do they cost? How does
Facebook know my credit card number? I don't remember entering that, but there
it is.

5\. Bravely moving on, I click through and see the price of Credits. 50
Credits = $5. So, 15 credits = $1.50 a movie, right? Oops, no. What a funny
coincidence, 50 isn't divisible by 15. I'll always have $0.50 that I'm loaning
to Facebook until I build up enough Credits to use them all up.

And they wonder why people download videos from "pirate" sites.

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wccrawford
When I clicked 'watch', it prompted me to buy just the 15 credits needed. I'm
not sure why that was different for you.

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wccrawford
Looks like each portion of each episode is 15 facebook credits, which is $1.50
USD.

That makes each doctor who 'movie' from Netflix cost $6 USD to watch once. (Or
as many times as you like within 48 hours.)

Seems a bit pricey to me. I'll likely pay for any I can't get on Netflix, but
only those.

