Netflix's Next Features: Family Plans, More Facebook Integration

Netflix users could see several new features coming their way.

According to an investor FAQ posted by Netflix (and highlighted by Gigaom), it looks as though Netflix is preparing to offer subscribers a "family plan" and expand its presence on Facebook.

Venture Beat suggests that the family plan would likely "allow Netflix customers to add multiple users to a single account at a discounted price," while Gigaom speculates that the plan "could look like a cell phone family plan, with an option to add additional accounts at a lower price point."

Netflix wrote in its investor FAQ under the heading "What is Netflix' market opportunity? Is your opportunity limited to the number of broadband households?":

The evolution toward individual memberships will take time, and we are still thinking about how to best do it. One option would be to allow an account to add additional concurrent streams (using the analogy of our DVD business, it would be like choosing a higher-priced plan that allows a subscriber to have more DVDs at home). Our $7.99-per-month plan is for one stream at a time, and later this year we expect to be able to offer consumers some account options to watch multiple simultaneous streams. Or it could be that there is a price point that would encourage multiple accounts in one household.

The company also noted that it plans to expand its presence on Facebook.

"In either case, our long-term goal is to evolve the Netflix service so that it feels more natural to have a personal account," the company explains. "We will also be working on broader Facebook integration which we hope will further the notion of personal accounts."

Warner Bros. has already started offering streaming movie rentals via Facebook.