Blinkbox to sell Game of Thrones series 2 by stream
House Tesco triumphant?
If you can't face waiting any longer for the DVD or Blu-ray release of Game of Thrones' second series, you'll be able to watch it today courtesy of Tesco IPTV service Blinkbox.
A breathless PR just called to say the Netflix and Lovefilm rival has just gained HBO's permission to sell you the series for £1.89 an episode or £17.99 for all ten of them.
You're not yet allowed to rent the series. Nor can you download it - this is a streaming only deal at this stage. Judging by the pricing - our eager PR lass was unable to say one way or t'other - it's standard definition too.
With no official word on the DVD release, Blinkbox is the only legitimate UK source for episodes, unless you have a Sky subscription and kept the series on your DVR.
Blinkbox said it will be offering a lot more HBO content over the coming weeks, though much of it isn't quite as fresh as Game of Thrones series 2 and Boardwalk Empire season 2, which also goes live on the service today. ®
COMMENTS
Looks like HBO didn't learn their lesson from Season One
I have money HBO! And this is a product I want!
No I don't want to stream it! I want to watch Blackwater Bay going up in a burst of High Definition green fire again and again and again!
"the only legitimate UK source"
The key word here is legitimate. "Other sources" have had the whole series in HD available for download for ages. and from there it'll play on pretty much anything. Good job ThePirateBay is blocked to prevent people from getting a decent service like that.
I'll wait for the boxset....
...from the local lending library. £4 for a two week rental.
Bargain and I don't feel like a freetard.
Far too expensive
£18? Really? For a one-time viewing? And only on that service?
What planet are these buffoons on?
I'll await the box-set thanks.
Re: Why??
So you'd pay £18 to stream it, then £30+ to buy the Bluray? I know where I'd make my cost cutting.
Services need to not only compete with piracy, they need to be more attractive than it. Spotify, Steam and iTunes have success because they compete with piracy, and you can't underestimate things like convenience here. Netflix and Lovefilm are still hamstrung by the Film and TV industries being very slow in wanting to release their content. People are expecting more and more things on demand, rather than just televised. Who wants to stay in on [x]day to watch a TV program, importance of audience figures for live TV are going to wane eventually. I know people who Sky+ (etc) entire series and watch them only once the series is complete as they don't want to wait for weekly episodes. They need to embrace the fact they need to massively cut the time down between broadcast and retail release, TV companies aren't happy with it because it means a loss of power and less revenues for them.
