Samsung Marries BlinkBox In UK Connected TV Video-on-Demand (VOD) Deal

Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on September 03, 2010  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

Samsung Connected TVs will now be carrying Blinkbox which will allow viewers to launch the companies movie and TV on-demand streaming service via the next generation of Smart TV's. Counterparts include LoveFilm, MuZu and BBC iPlayer.

The wedding means owners of next generation Samsung TV's will be able to watch the Blinkbox video inventory which includes top shelf movies like Avatar and The Hangover, and TV shows Peep Show and Skins  - all via a simple TV App or TV Widget on the TV.

Blinkbox’s has also recently inked deals with Sony to launch on the PlayStation3, and allegedly plans to become involved with the BBC-led IPTV joint venture Project Canvas. And just last week, Blinkbox announced a deal with Google, to offer its catalogue of 6500 videos for Youtube.

Both LoveFilm and Blinkbox are firing up their deal machines prior to US movie streaming giant Netflix in the UK.

LoveFilm, the main competition for Blinkbox recently paired up with MGM, bringing movies including The Graduate and Quantum of Solace to its online player.

Blinkbox CEO Michael Comish told NMA that the Samsung deal is a “significant” development for Blinkbox in the “increasingly important” web-enabled TV market.

“These devices aren’t only revolutionising how we consume media, but how we, as a business, interact with our ever-growing consumer base,” he said. “Research shows that TV-based viewing is driving growth accounting for 60% of the total VOD market while sales of internet-connected TV devices will rise to 375m globally in 2013. Blinkbox is the UK's leading online film and TV aggregator. Since its launch in April 2008, the company has amassed a catalogue of over 6,000 of the world's best film and TV titles from top tier studios including BBC Worldwide, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Sony Pictures Television International, Twentieth Century Fox and more than 15 leading independent producers such as FremantleMedia, All3Media, Revolver, Zig Zag and Aardman Animations.

With an audience of over 1.2 million unique users a month, blinkbox.com combines premium programming with leading edge technology and a simple user interface. The company offers a buy-to-own and a watch-for-free service in a single destination where consumers can buy or rent the latest releases or watch Free TV, all streamed instantaneously to PC, MAC, TV and more recently, PS3.

Christophor Rick of Reelseo.com also has some excellent coverage.

Note Appmarket.tv contributor Paul Johnson wrote his thoughts on Blinkbox on a Sony PS3 here.