British on-demand film and TV streaming service Blinkbox has announced it is added support for the Google Chromecast in the very near future.
The service, which is part owned by the supermarket giant Tesco, confirmed the news in a blog post earlier today, May 29.
Cast support is expected to arrive in the official Android and iOS mobile apps for the pay-as-you-view media provider sometime in the next few months.
‘Making Blinkbox More Accessible’
While not viewed as a direct rival to subscriptions services like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Instant Video, Tesco say it serves more than one million users with on-demand content every month, including big-title movie releases months in advance of competing services.
Its success has led to some chatter over whether it might introduce a subscription model alongside its 30-day rental and purchase options.
Regardless of how it offers content to users Blinkbox want to make sure users can enjoy it on their terms. Adrian Letts, Managing Director at Blinkbox, sees the Chromecast as being key to this:
“With Chromecast we love the fact that for £30 it’s possible to turn a TV with an HDMI input into a smart TV, meaning blinkbox will be even more accessible to those who want to enjoy the latest movies and TV without being tied into a subscription.”
Content rented or purchases from Blinkbox can is already available on a range of devices, including Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, games consoles, select smart TVs and, naturally, on the web.
With sales of the Chromecast in the UK reported to have surpassed 100,000 units in just two months, Blinkbox clearly see the opportunities on offer.
But is it enough? While there remain some notable omissions in the UK, ITV Player and Now TV being two in particular, Tesco join esteemed company, including Netflix, HBO and the BBC, by throwing their support behind the cheap media streamer.
Not just a win for Google and the growing band of Chromecast-owning movie buffs, but also, astutely, for Blinkbox, too.
- Source: Blinkbox