UK-based video-on-demand service
TalkTalk TV Store
(formerly
blinkbox
) was a UK-based transactional (purchase and rental)
video-on-demand
(VoD) service available on
Macintosh
and
Microsoft Windows
computers,
games consoles
,
tablet computers
and
Smart TVs
.
[1]
Content is generally streamed, with downloading currently possible on Windows PC/laptops. The blinkbox brand had been extended to companion services offering digital music and books.
Tesco
bought an 80% stake in the business in 2011 as part of a move into digital content. On 8 January 2015 the company sold blinkbox Movies to
TalkTalk Group
, who stated they intended to integrate the service into its own range of services.
[2]
Tesco sold
blinkbox Music
to
Guvera
on 26 January 2015,
[3]
and confirmed it would close its blinkbox Books division at the end of February 2015.
[4]
TalkTalk renamed the blinkbox Movies service in 2016. In May 2018 TalkTalk announced that they would close the service completely, with customers transferring to rival service
Rakuten TV
.
[5]
[6]
[7]
History
[
edit
]
The company was co-founded in 2006 by Michael Comish (he was blinkbox's chief executive officer until June 2013 when he became Tesco Group Digital Officer)
[8]
and Australian entrepeneur and current Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group based in London, Adrian Letts. Letts was chief operating officer of the blinkbox group of services and MD of the Movies and TV service, both former senior executives of
Channel 4
and
Vodafone
respectively. blinkbox was launched in October 2007 with the backing of a number of venture capital firms.
On 20 April 2011, Tesco acquired an 80% stake in blinkbox from Eden Ventures and Nordic Venture Partners, intending to use the company to boost its
digital entertainment
offering.
[9]
The Movies and TV service has around one million users per month.
In December 2014, Tesco was reported to be in negotiations with TalkTalk Group over the sale of blinkbox Movies, after talks with Vodafone fell through.
[10]
The sale to TalkTalk was completed on 8 January 2015.
[11]
TalkTalk eventually acquired the service along with a number of broadband customers, who transferred to the TalkTalk network.
In May 2018 TalkTalk announced that they would close the service completely for off-network customers who did not take TalkTalk's own broadband service where the more fully featured TalkTalk TV service is provided. Customers are being transferred to rival DTO service Rakuten TV.
[5]
[6]
[7]
Services
[
edit
]
TalkTalk TV Store has content deals with over 50 of the world's leading content producers including
HBO
,
BBC Worldwide
,
Disney
,
Warner Bros.
,
Universal Studios
,
Paramount Pictures
,
Sony Pictures Entertainment
,
FremantleMedia
,
All3Media
, Revolver Entertainment and
Aardman Animations
.
In 2010 the company signed a deal with the
Samsung Group
allowing films to be
streamed
directly though any Internet@TV
Samsung
TVs. blinkbox also formed a content partnership with YouTube
[12]
allowing the site to carry blinkbox films on its new Movies section. The service was also the first in the UK to offer streaming film content through
Sony
's
PlayStation 3
, and
Microsoft
's
Xbox 360
consoles.
[12]
Rental content can be streamed directly to a Windows PC, Mac,
Xbox 360
,
PlayStation 3
or
Samsung Smart TV
, and can be viewed any number of times within 48 hours. Buy-to-own content can be viewed without limit. The blinkbox app is built into all pre 2012 Samsung Smart TVs. Content is protected with Microsoft's
Windows Media DRM
digital rights management and requires
Microsoft Silverlight
to play. blinkbox cannot be used on
Linux
.
Historically blinkbox combined a free+pay model allowing users both to buy titles and also to watch free ad-supported titles. In December 2012 blinkbox stopped all ad-supported titles and shortly after launched www.clubcardtv.com, in which users with a
Tesco Clubcard
could watch titles free of charge, viewing advertisements targeted to them based on their buying habits.
On 28 October 2014, Tesco shut down the Clubcard TV service, stating that they were not getting the level of repeat usage that they had hoped for.
[13]
Other services
[
edit
]
In 2012, Tesco bought the online music streaming service
WE7
and relaunched it in 2013 as
blinkbox Music
, aiming to compete with
Spotify
.
[14]
[15]
blinkbox launched an
ebook
service, branded as blinkbox Books, in March 2014.
[16]
blinkbox Music was sold to Guvera on 26 January 2015.
[3]
After exclusive talks with
Waterstones
ended, Tesco also confirmed that blinkbox Books would close at the end of February 2015.
[4]
Customers' purchases were transferred to
Kobo
.
[17]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"How to watch blinkbox on a range of devices"
. Blinkbox
. Retrieved
29 September
2013
.
- ^
Harris, Jamie (9 January 2015).
"TalkTalk to drop blinkbox name and integrate services"
.
Digital Spy
. Retrieved
12 January
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Glenday, John (26 January 2015).
"Tesco sells Blinkbox Music to Guvera"
.
The Drum
. Retrieved
28 January
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Armstrong, Ashley (26 January 2015).
"Tesco gives up on e-books as it closes blinkbox Books"
.
The Telegraph
. Retrieved
28 January
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"TalkTalk Broadband Deals: Home Internet & Phone Offers"
.
- ^
a
b
"TalkTalk off-net TV customers switched to Rakuten TV"
. 12 April 2018.
- ^
a
b
"UPDATE ISP TalkTalk Shifts UK Off-net TV Only Customers to Rakuten TV"
. 12 April 2018.
- ^
"blinkbox co-founder and CEO Michael Comish promoted to Tesco Group Digital Officer"
. Blinkbox. Archived from
the original
on 11 November 2013
. Retrieved
23 October
2013
.
- ^
"Tesco takes majority stake in Blinkbox"
.
Digital Spy
. 20 April 2011
. Retrieved
20 April
2011
.
- ^
Williams, Christopher (29 December 2014).
"Tesco turns to TalkTalk in bid to offload Blinkbox"
.
The Telegraph
. Retrieved
30 December
2014
.
- ^
Williams, Christopher (8 January 2015).
"TalkTalk to shutter loss-making Blinkbox Movies service"
.
The Telegraph
. Retrieved
12 January
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Warman, Matt (27 August 2010).
"YouTube adds movies on demand"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London
. Retrieved
16 October
2010
.
- ^
"Tesco will close its free, ad-supported Clubcard TV streaming service on October 28"
. The Next Web. 29 September 2014
. Retrieved
24 July
2015
.
- ^
Halliday, Josh (14 June 2012).
"Tesco buys We7 for £10.8m"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
12 January
2015
.
- ^
Chapman, Matthew (4 March 2013).
"Tesco poaches Facebook and Sainsbury's execs for Blinkbox task"
.
Marketing Magazine
. Retrieved
12 January
2015
.
- ^
Campbell, Lisa (26 March 2014).
"Tesco launches blinkbox books"
.
The Bookseller
. Retrieved
12 January
2015
.
- ^
"Transferring your blinkbox Books library to Kobo"
. Kobo
. Retrieved
9 March
2015
.
External links
[
edit
]
UK-based TV on demand
|
---|
Current
| Network-specific
| |
---|
Provider-specific
| |
---|
Generic
| |
---|
|
---|
Defunct
| |
---|
|
---|
UK national newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals
|
---|
|
|
|
|
---|
Principal
channels
(
List
)
| |
---|
Services
and
platforms
| |
---|
Studios
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
|
|
Companies and organisations
|
---|
Major
companies
| |
---|
Resources
| |
---|
Government and
regulatory bodies
| |
---|
Industry and
trades bodies
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
|
|
Regional and student media
|
---|
Regional media
| |
---|
Student media
| |
---|
|
|
|