Film and TV clip-sharing service BlinkBox, the ‘mash up’ service which has been in beta testing since last autumn, officially launches today.
The service offers 10,000 scenes and 1,600 full movies and TV shows, with plenty on offer including such classics as Scarface, The Matrix and South Park.
Users can choose to ‘mash’ clips they want or download movies and TV shows to rent or own. So you can grab your favourite clip, add a personalised messages and forward these ‘blinks’ to your mates' PCs or mobile phones.
Watch, buy, rent
Users can also watch, buy and rent classic and contemporary films and TV programmes. Rental is set to cost between 99p and £2.49 for a 24- to 48-hour period, and movies will cost between £4.99 and £15.99 to buy outright.
BlinkBox is the brainchild of former senior execs from Channel 4 and Vodafone with content rights deals already in place with FremantleMedia, Warner Bros, Paramount, Discovery Networks, Aardman Animations and Universal.
New content deals
Following the official launch, the company also announces new content rights deals this week with Asian entertainment company Fortune Star (for, amongst other things, access to Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies) as well as with Raindance TV and extreme sports company X-Treme.
"We are using it as a marketing tool and it is quite sticky in terms of usage," said BlinkBox co-founder Michael Comish, the former managing director of Channel 4 division 4 Services.
"We've had over a million film and TV fans pay us a visit so far, rediscovering old titles and searching out new ones… The idea of sharing, personalising and communicating with film moments has really begun to take off and is definitely a reflection of how communication is evolving in the 21st century."
"I see us as sort of a cross between iTunes and Facebook," added Comish.
