Flixster is a movie rating site that lets you share films you like with friends and also find out what movies they like. Rotten Tomatoes is a similar beast, although it focuses more on aggregation and critical response rather than social networking.
Last month rumors were swirling around about MySpace buying Flixster, with the original AllThingsD report even suggesting that Flixster would be combined with Rotten Tomatoes. While MySpace appears to be absent from the actual deal scenario, News Corp., the parent company of both MySpace and IGN Entertainment, will maintain a minority stake in the new company.
An Acquisition That Makes Sense
Far too often we see companies acquire other companies that seemingly bring very little value to the core mission. In this case, Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes actually seem like a match made in movie lover heaven.
Rotten Tomatoes has a strong existing brand and is considered a trusted go-to source for movie fans looking to find out what the general consensus is surrounding a film. Flixster already has a really strong hold in the web and mobile app space -- with applications available on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm Pre and Android platforms.
Rather than trying to compete against each other, it makes much more sense for the two companies to come together.
According to the announcement, both sites will continue to operate as separate properties, though we're sure we'll start seeing data more integrated across the two.