Blinkbox is upping its game in the competition with iTunes.
The Tesco owned on-demand service has agreed a deal with Entertainment Film Distributors for a range of films distributed in the UK by the company. The tie-up, coupled with a recent spate deals with all of the major US and UK film studios, gives Blinkbox users access to 100% of major new films released in the UK.
Films covered by the deal with EFD includes August: Osage County, American Hustle, The Butler, Transcendence, I, Frankenstein, The Giver and Her. In addition to the content deal, Blinkbox has also added “watch offline” functionality, which will allow Apple and Android tablet users to download movies and TV shows they have rented or purchased to watch on the go without an internet connection.
With the two developments, which come after a recent content deal with Channel 4, Blinkbox is more directly targeting the same customer base as iTunes – with a key difference being that their download service is not limited to Apple devices. The move is also a strategically important one as sales of tablets are expected to surge this Christmas.
Blinkbox’s Director of Content Acquisition and Sales Douglas Davis said that with the new download functionality the company had strengthened their “position as the UK’s go to service for those wanting to rent, buy and enjoy the latest movies and TV on multiple devices, without being tied into a subscription or one specific brand of device”.
While Blinkbox Co-Founder and CEO Adrian Letts added: “The ability to watch offline on tablets is one of the most frequently requested features and will transform the way many customers use blinkbox – whether that’s by allowing more freedom to watch what they want in the home – or taking their entertainment on the move.”
