Tesco acquires 80% stake in blinkbox

Leading UK supermarket chain Tesco has acquired an 80% share in VOD service blinkbox from Eden Ventures and Nordic Venture Partners for an undisclosed fee.

Tesco has a significant physical DVD sales operation but this is its first venture into the digital film arena.  

blinkbox has content licensing deals with broadcasters and producers including BBC Worldwide, Channel 4, ALL3Media and FremantleMedia as well as deals with major US studios and networks including Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal and Fox.

Richard Brasher, Tesco UK CEO said: “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. Working with the blinkbox team and our content partners, we will bring these compelling propositions to life for our customers.”

blinkbox CEO Michael Comish, added: “It’s a hugely exciting time, looking at how accessible entertainment is becoming for consumers. This partnership represents another step forward, bringing the leading movie streaming service together with the UK’s biggest retailer.”

Blinblox has a catalogue of more than 9,000 titles as well as TV shows and trailers viewable on PC, Mac, PS3 console, tablet devices and internet-enabled connected TVs.

The three year old company receives two million viewers per month.