Facebook's Soon-To-Be Conflict: Netflix's CEO Is A Board Member

Facebook Inc FB wants to take its business beyond the smartphone and desktop and on to TV.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased investors Wednesday during the post-earnings conference call, but for the time being it remains merely a vision with no concrete plan.

As noted by Recode, if Facebook wants to enter the TV space, it will be competing with other video streaming platforms, including Netflix, Inc. NFLX whose CEO Reed Hastings also sits on Facebook's board.

Recode suggested that regardless of what Facebook's ultimate vision is, there will be an overlap with Netflix's business. As such, there will be a real conflict between Facebook and Hastings who has served as a board member since 2011.

On the other hand, it's possible there is no reason for concern. After all, Netflix's content boss Ted Sarandos is also a member of Spotify's board and it's known that the music streaming provider has been looking to build up its own video business.

Also, Facebook hired Ricky Van Veen, the co-founder of the CollegeHumor website for the newly created title of Facebook's "head of global creative strategy." Recode previously hypothesized that Van Veen could evolve Facebook's ambitions in video to invest in its own pieces of content - something Netflix is spending billions of dollars in doing itself.

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Posted In: TechMediaFacebook VideoMark ZuckerbergReed Hastings
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