Vodafone rumoured to buy Blinkbox

Vodafone is in talks with Tesco to buy its loss-making video on-demand service Blinkbox, according to various reports.

Tesco has been trying to sell-off Blinkbox, which made a loss of almost £20 million in its last financial year, since early October. The supermarket’s news boss, Dave Lewis, is understood to have decided the platform is a “distraction” to the wider business and will shut the service down if a buyer cannot be found.

However, The Daily Telegraph reported over the weekend that the supermarket is now in “detailed talks” with Vodafone and that other parties have withdrawn from the bidding.

A source close to the talks told the paper an agreement was “close”, though others insisted there was no certainty yet.

The source said: “Vodafone is basically starting from scratch in content. This will give them a big leg-up. Blinkbox’s market positioning also suits them. It focuses on new films that will be attractive to the premium customers that Vodafone targets.”

Vodafone is currently preparing to enter the broadband market next year, and picking up an established platform – for a bargain price – would give it much firmer foot in the door.