Tesco launches personalised Clubcard TV
March 6, 2013
By Colin Mann
As revealed February 11 by advanced-television.com, UK supermarket retailer Tesco has confirmed the launch of Clubcard TV to its 16 million Clubcard loyalty card customers. Hundreds of movies and TV shows are available to watch for free online, with content specifically tailored to family and kids.
Michael Comish, CEO of Tesco Digital Entertainment, said: “Clubcard TV offers a whole world of free entertainment for all the family. It makes digital entertainment easy and accessible for our customers.”
He said the reason Tesco could offer “great programming for free” was because customers would see relevant advertising before and during the movie or TV show they were watching. “We’ll use Clubcard data to tell us what might be relevant for our customers and therefore help us deliver a more personalised service,” he explained.
The service has been developed by the team behind the Tesco movie and TV service blinkbox, with new movies and TV shows added all the time as the service evolves. Customers will have an opportunity to shape Clubcard TV by providing feedback both on content and additional features they would like to see added.
Clubcard TV is supported by targeted advertising based on users’ shopping habits. Advertisers signed up for the launch of the service include Kellogg’s, J&J, Colgate and Danone.
Titles available for launch include the acclaimed Brad Pitt western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.), The Shawshank Redemption (Daro Media) and the hit shows The Only Way is Essex (All3media), Doc Martin and The Real Hustle (DRG).
Kids’ content available from launch includes The Wind in the Willows movie (DCD Rights) starring Matt Lucas and The Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake TV series from distributor American Greetings.
There are plans to extend the service to a range of devices including games consoles, tablets, Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes.
Clubcard members can access the service by entering their 16-digit number and a few details including date of birth and postcode.
In recent years, Tesco has acquired a number of services to harness the potential of digital books (Mobcast) and online streaming (blinkbox and WE7).