Blinkx signs new set-top box deal

Blinkx has signed a deal with the digital TV software company Miniweb that will see its search and interactive services added to set-top boxes across the UK.

The deal will give the online video search service a chance to integrate the diversity of web video and the functionality of web search with TV sets in homes across the country.

Blinkx is primarily a video and audio search tool, which indexes video clips, streaming media and audio files as well as podcasts and video blogs, and offers users recommendation and personalisation features.

It claims to be the largest deep indexed video search engine with around 35 million hours indexed and agreements with more than 450 different content providers.

Miniweb, meanwhile, supplies the white-label interactive software for Sky’s set-top boxes, although there is no guarantee the deal will see the Blinkx service offered to Sky subscribers.

However, the new partnership between Blinkx and Miniweb is expected to be attractive to digital TV stations as the profiles of Blinkx users can to be used to target ads.

Andrew Carver, Miniweb’s chief executive, said: “This will allow web-like business models to emerge on TV, which enables our business partners to benefit from valuable targeted advertising and revenues shares from TV viewer transactions.”