Supermarket chain Tesco is to offer free digital film downloads with physical DVD purchases, as part of an attempt to gain a foothold in the online movie market.
According to the Guardian, members of the retailer’s Clubcard loyalty scheme who buy DVD or Blu-ray discs will be given the option to download a digital version from online film service Blinkbox, 80 per cent of which was acquired by Tesco back in April.
The first tranche of 30 titles will include big-name pictures including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Transformers 3 and The Smurfs. Tesco’s UK chief executive Richard Brasher said the promotion could “help start a digital revolution”.
“This is the tip of the iceberg: this will go from 30 to 300 to 3,000 titles over the next 12 months,” said Blinkbox chief executive Michael Comish. “The aspiration is that the majority of all new DVD and Blu-ray releases in Tesco stores will be part of this offer.”
Last week, a report from strategy consultancy firm OC&C suggested that budget food chain Iceland could diversify into selling non-food items such as electrical goods and video games.
