Tesco Buys Chunk Of Blinkbox And Enters The Online TV Market
Move over Wal-Mart, the UK’s biggest foodchain, Tesco is moving into the online TV arena. Their home entertainment sector has acquired a majority stake in the Blinkbox VOD service that the company says will help position them for “the next stage in the internet-driven revolution in home entertainment”.
Blinkbox streams video to over 2 million viewers each month and has a catalogue of 9,000 plus movies and TV shows available for rent or to buy, as well as a selection of free movies, TV shows and trailers. The service can be viewed on PC, Mac, PS3 console, tablet devices and internet enabled connected TV sets.
The entry into this market by Tesco will shake up the UK online TV space with competition from big players including Amazon, with their own VOD service and the LoveFilm service. They may also be looking to tap into the Sky and Virgin Media market. Not forgetting the expected Netflix UK launch.
As the worlds third largest retail store, Tesco will have seen the success of music and movie downloading services such as Apple’s iTunes. Selling books via the web have also changed the entertainment retail landscape.
Tesco acquisition shows that the company is very much aware of these changing consumer habits, and it comes one day after the group announced flat sales in the UK for 2010/11 financial year. They have aquired 80% of Blinkbox from Eden Ventures and Nordic Venture Partners.
Richard Brasher, Tesco UK CEO said that the deal will offer customers something different:- “The acquisition of Blinkbox, together with a range of other services currently in development, means we can link physical purchase of a product to the building of digital collections in a new and seamless way,” he said.
For Blinkbox, Michael Comish CEO said “it is an exciting time for such a partnership considering how accessible entertainment is becoming for consumers”.
It is an interesting move as it seems that when you now buy a DVD from Tesco, you will get the virtual film rights to watch anywhere and on any product you like. That will make other retail outlets look to offer a similar service.
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