Tesco buys into Blinkbox
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Tesco has bought an 80% stake in video-on-demand service Blinkbox as part of its push into the home entertainment market.
Blinkbox offers users more than 9,000 films available to stream via the internet. It was previously owned by private equity firms Eden Ventures and Nordic Venture Partners.
Richard Brasher Tesco’s UK CEO says the acquisition of the movie streaming site means the supermarket can “link together” the physical purchase of films and entertainment with digital technology to create a multichannel entertainment offer.
Yesterday at Tesco’s end of year results presentation, Tesco CEO Philip Clarke described how internet retail has driven the evolution of the supermarket’s strategy and outlined how building a multichannel business was one of the company’s six objectives for growth.
Cusomters can link directly to Blinkbox from the entertainment area of Tesco’s site but both parties maintain that the aqcuisition will not have any effect on the branding of the video site.
Tesco also said it is yet to be decided whether Blinkbox will be cross-promoted through Clubcard.
Readers' comments (1)
Nicole Barbosa | Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:10 pm
I am interested in this recent announcement and wonder if it has anything to do with Facebook's deal with Warner Brothers, who just recently added five new films to the list.
As the Tesco CEO pointed out, internet retail is driving both revenue and purchases. As most brands have either a website and/or a page on Facebook, this will continue to be the case, especially if the idea of Facebook Credits launches further.
I will be interested to see if this venture works for Tesco, and whether Clubcard holders and shoppers alike will find the service convenient.
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