37 
Looks like Tesco’s pushing out a solid effort to take on the likes of Netflix, LoveFilm, and Now TV, called Clubcard TV, instantly streaming movies and TV in your browser. The best bit is it’s “free forever”. The only catch is that you’ll need a free Tesco Clubcard to use it.
The service is basically run by Blinkbox, which Tesco bought a controlling 80-per-cent stake in, and has both movies and TV shows up for grabs. Highlights include Batman and Superman films, and British sitcoms like Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps.
It’s currently in beta, but you can sign up and watch stuff, although it seems you may need to be a Tesco staffer right now to use it. Apparently the service has 1,000s of movies and TV shows, but a cursory glace says most of it is pretty old. But, the service has just kicked off, so we’ll probably see a lot more added to it in the near future. Apparently Tesco sees it as “a ‘thank you’ to our customers”. Those cynical among you might see it as a way to track what you watch and get you in the store more, but we’ll roll with the ‘free gift’ idea, for now. [Clubcard TV via Telegraph]
Tesco's Going to Take Amazon Head-On With New Movie, TV, Music and Book Sites
The Netflix vs. LoveFilm vs. Now TV SmackDown: Which One is Worth Your Money?
Freesat's Taking Sky and YouView Head-On With the Help of Netflix
Owt f’nowt, as we like to say in in the Peoples Republic of Yorkshire.
Exactly.
And if ya do owt fa nowt, do it fa tha sen!
The sign up doesn’t recognise the clubcard number. Anyone else having this problem?
Same problem here, says I need to enter a privelige card number… but if I type my clubcard incorrectly it says it’s not a clubcard number so I’m definitely entering a correct clubcard number.
Privelege Card is I think, the Tesco staff discount card. Not the normal customer clubcard at all.
Yup, same here too – tried in two different browsers in case it was dodgy validation code.
No luck here either!
Yep I have the same issue. As I replied below, it does seem to say that the Privelege Card number is incorrect… but the Privelege Card is the Tesco Staff discount card… not the normal customer clubcard.
Error on the Tesco site I’d guess.
TheNextWeb’s article says it was initially only open to Tesco staff members, so perhaps all the news of the launch is a little premature, and it’s not publicly open yet
http://thenextweb.com/uk/2013/02/11/every-little-helps-uk-supermarket-tesco-launches-blinkbox-powered-clubcard-tv-in-beta/
Aye, getting exactly the same issues here. Maybe they’re restricting sign up’s over time to roll out slowly. Any update Gizmodo?
it keeps asking me for a privilege card number?
Yes, me too. I think it’s got a few teething issues.
i have just sent them an email about it, so may get an answer
i have had a reply now
Hi,
Thank you for contacting us here at Clubcard TV.
The Clubcard TV site is currently restricted to Tesco employees as it is still in the testing stages.
- Are you a Tesco employee?
- If you are then have you registered the card with blinkbox?
- If you have then please use the same login details to access Clubcard TV
We’re always looking for new ways to reward our customer’s loyalty. We’re trialling Clubcard TV with colleagues to get their feedback before rolling it out more widely.
Feel free to message back if you have any other questions.
Regards,
i emailed them again and asked them when it would be available to customers
Hi,
We are planning to launch the site for Clubcard members early Spring, 2013.
We do not have a confirmed date for launch at the moment but we will be notifying all Clubcard members when the site is available.
Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Regards,
They are very fast aren’t they?
i know i dont normally expect responses to emails for at least a day or two, but damn they were on the ball
Good work!
Looks like Giz jumped the shark.
It’s ok, the site itself is a little slow and buggy, but I guess that’s why it’s Beta. Instead of the smooth fading animation to show the “New to Clubcard TV” it’s more of a jumpy motion to and from each graphic.
The shows/movies do seem rather old, ‘old British classics’ by the looks of it. None that have been released in the last few years, which is a shame.
Oh, and you need Microsoft Silverlight to actually watch anything.
And that concludes my extensive review.
Why do companies use silverlight when there are better options that don’t require extra downloads?
I signed up for Epic TV last week only to find I needed Silverlight. Thankfully they had sense to release an iOs app too.
Wait, sorry – forgot to mention this, probably quite important too; you can only get in with a privilege card.
So my guess is the guys up at HQ are trialling it first with employees, and rolling out to the public *soon*
just received my Clubcard the other day (was missing out on loads of points from my daily £3 meal deal), so lets see if they launch it for free to Clubcard holders
From the looks of it, some people are getting luck with basic Clubcards, but who knows. Perhaps Tesco itself has jumped the gun a bit.
“Highlights include…and British sitcoms like Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps.”
I’m sorry “Highlight”, did you mean to put “Things to stay clear of because they’re complete toilet”?
Larger? I think you mean Lager.
Ohh Crap not another one, we just need the ones that we have to get better libraries.
One of the “movie highlights” is Cheesecake Casserole. Definitely sounds like a Tesco advert.
Tesco confirmed that this is only a staff facility at the moment.