Tesco buys majority stake in BlinkBox

Tesco has acquired a majority stake in movie streaming service Blinkbox, shelling out for 80 per cent of the company.

Richard Brasher, Tesco UK CEO, explained the supermarket's motive behind the purchase:

"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."

Tesco to the movies

Management-speak aside, Tesco's new purchase means that the supermarket can offer films to buy both and rent physically on DVD and virtually using the internet.

The 'range of other services currently in development' could refer to Tesco-branded smartphone and tablet apps for accessing the on-demand service, as hinted at by Brasher's further comments:

"We want to allow them to decide how they access entertainment content and on which devices, whether it's on PC, TV or tablet."

Blinkbox can currently be used on PC, Mac, PS3, 'tablet devices' and internet-enabled TVs; no doubt Tesco will be keen to splash its logo about a bit on all these platforms.

Every little helps

Blinkbox CEO Michael Comish adds, "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."

It's not the first time the supermarket has made forays into the movie business, with the unlikely setting up of a Tesco film production arm in early 2010, intended to adapt bestselling novels into moving picture form.

That side of things doesn't seem to be going too well, however, with just one film, Paris Connections (that well-known blockbuster) notched up to date.