David Farnor | On 17, Nov 2014

Tesco has updated its blinkbox app to allow downloads of movies and TV shows.

The supermarket-owned pay-per-view platform has been the subject of much speculation recently, with Tesco reportedly considering putting it up for sale to jettison unessential company departments while it tries to manage major losses. Since that rumour broke, though, blinkbox, if anything, has become more active.

A new advertising campaign has launched (labelling its content “F for Fresh from the Cinema”) and it has also joined the UltraViolet scheme, which means that those who have purchased UV-compatible DVDs and Blu-rays can then use blinkbox to download a digital copy. The big feature lacking from blinkbox, though, is downloading purchased titles on Apple’s iPad.

BBC iPlayer updated its app to allow downloads years ago, while Sky Go Extra also allows Sky customers to download programmes to iOS devices. 4oD does too. Now, blinkbox has caught up, reports Recombu, letting iPad owners buy something on their computer (or tablet), save it for offline viewing and then view it on the train or bus or anywhere they can’t connect to the Internet. Given that blinkbox is Chromecast compatible too, they can even send the content over to their telly to watch the ending after arriving home.

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