Netflix joins Facebook for film ratings

NEW YORK - Netflix Inc. said it has linked with the social-networking website Facebook, allowing subscribers of the largest US mail-order movie service to share their film ratings with Facebook friends.

Ratings of one to five stars will show on a user's Facebook profile if a Netflix member has enabled the Facebook Connect function, Netflix said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Netflix, which reached 10 million subscribers in February, is seeking ways to help users rent more movies. The Los Gatos, Calif., company started a competition in 2006 that will award developers $1 million for a more accurate film-recommendation system. Facebook said it has more than 175 million members who have used the site within the past 30 days.

"Movies make for great conversations," Gibson Biddle, Netflix's vice president of product management, said in the statement. More than 6,000 other services use Facebook Connect, including the TechCrunch blog, review and ratings site Citysearch, and video site Joost, according to Facebook's site.

Closely held Facebook, based in Palo Alto, Calif., allows members to create profiles, become online "friends" with other users, and share content such as photos and videos.

Netflix gained $1.75, or 4.2 percent, to $43.40 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.