Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. have licensed films to Sequoia Capital-backed flickme, the latest entry into the growing field of movie viewing services with an integrated social element.
Flickme offers streaming movies, in order to supply the latest titles, and rental or purchase of older titles that have less restricted licenses. Members can then use their Facebook log-in to follow people with similar tastes in movies, exchange recommendations, earn badges, share discounts and just generally connect with friends.
In addition to social interaction, one of flickme’s benefits is that recommendations will be highly personalized and made by people with whom the user has a relationship, according to flickme CEO Mitch Galbraith (pictured). This idea is kind of like if that one really knowledgeable employee from the now-closed video store was a personal friend.
“We’ve built a shortcut to find movies you’ll love,” said Galbraith. “We’re assembling a library of thousands of top Hollywood titles and enabling highly personalized recommendations from close friends to ensure every movie you watch on flickme is a winner.”
About a third of flickme’s current catalog – 1,000 titles and growing – also come with a feature that encourages users to invite others to participate; after buying or renting an eligible movie, consumers can share a discount on that same title with up to ten friends via Facebook or Twitter. Regular pricing starts at $2.99, a dollar more for new releases.
“Social networks are already a tremendously important marketing tool, but flickme goes one step further to harness the power of social media for distribution by getting fans engaged in recommending titles after the initial studio marketing campaign,” said John Calkins, executive vice president, Global Digital and Commercial Innovation at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
“Fans sharing discounts with friends is a great way to get groups of people watching the same movie around the same time. This opens the door for social interactions that greatly enrich the digital movie watching experience,” said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.
Flickme was founded in early 2011, serial entrepreneurs who Flickme was founded in 2011 by Galbraith and Mark Smallcombe, with funding from Sequoia Capital. It is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. “This is Mitch and Mark’s third start-up where Sequoia Capital has been their partner,” said Michael Moritz, General Partner at Sequoia Capital. “We’re thrilled to be working with them again, especially on a project with such promise.”
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Photo of CEO Mitch Galbraith courtesy of flickme
