2nd Dec 11
Tesco to offer digital movies when selling DVDs
by Natasha Redman
Every little helps: supermarket desperate to gain ground in digital movie arena
Every little helps: supermarket desperate to gain ground in digital movie arena
Tesco has launched a new initiative in the fight for Britain’s video-on-demand market by offering customers a free digital copy of a film when they purchase a DVD in-store.
In April, the supermarket giant took a stake of 80 per cent in internet film service Blinkbox in a move to get its business ready for what it described as the “online-driven revolution in home entertainment”, and challenge rivals like Amazon’s LoveFilm and Netflix, the US VOD service which will launch in Britain and Ireland in early 2012.
Tesco’s new offer will enable the 20 million participants of its Clubcard loyalty scheme who purchase a Blu-ray disc or DVD – either through the supermarket group’s online service or at one of its outlets – to receive a free digital version which can be watched on devices such as computers, iPads, Playstations, Xboxes and LG and Samsung smart TVs.
Richard Brasher, Tesco’s UK chief executive, said the bundling of movies in digital and physical formats will help kick off a digital revolution. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be the first movie offered when the service starts today, with more than 30 titles to be provided by Tesco in the first tranche. Other titles include Jeremy Clarkson: Powered Up, The Smurfs, The Lion King and Transformers 3.
Michael Comish, the chief executive of Blinkbox, said this is just the start, pointing out that the figure will rise from 30 to 300 to 3,000 during the next 12 months. He explained that the aspiration is that most of all new Blu-ray and DVD releases in Tesco outlets will be included in this offer.
Blinkbox has agreed deals with four of the big six film studios – only Fox and Universal Pictures are yet to sign agreements – and a number of smaller rights holders like the BBC and Lionsgate have also signed on.
Tesco plans to support the new service with a widescale marketing initiative beginning on Friday, with a TV advertising push scheduled for this weekend in shows such as The X Factor. Tesco’s move becomes the latest in a wave of activity in the highly competitive on-demand movie sector.
Last week, struggling retailer HMV kicked off an on-demand service which features titles such as X-Men and Harry Potter in the hope of offsetting slumping sales in its stores.
Netflix’s impending move to Britain and Ireland has sparked frenzied deal-making, with competition for digital rights between the US firm and its rivals hots up.
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