Douglas Davis is in LA this week attending the Screenings for the first time. Davis oversees buying activity across UK electronic sell through service Blinkbox as well as for the recently launched free to view Clubcard TV service from Tesco, the UK retail giant that owns Blinkbox. As the number of digital buyers heading to LA mushrooms, Davis tells TBI why Blinkbox is in town.

Tell us about the services for which you are buying?

We have two services, the premium pay Blinkbox and also Clubcard TV.

Essentially, Blinkbox is all about the latest film and TV releases – it’s fully loaded big Studio content. So in TV we have shows including Breaking Bad, Community, The Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock... we have content from all of the big Studios.

Can consumers stream the content?

You need to distinguish the economic and delivery model. Blinkbox for TV is EST, there is no rental, it is purchase only. Once purchased you can download the content and watch it later or stream it.

And there is a raft of HBO content on the service?

Yes, the HBO content is core to our service, we have the full catalogue. Game of Thrones (pictured) is our best-selling title.

What US content is working well on Blinkbox?

Our current hits are Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead. It’s somewhat male-skewed, but as we grow the size of our Blinkbox audience, now that we are part of Tesco, it will become more evenly mixed.

Game Of Thrones

Which window do you acquire in?

The post-broadcast, transactional window. How long after it has been on TV depends on the broadcaster – they get it first and the day we get it depends on the strength of their holdback.

And for Clubcard TV, the audience and how you buy must be different?

Yes, it’s quite a different demo, it’s female aged 25-to-54 and with two kids. The proposition is great; older films and TV shows that are not in the broadcast or EST window. It’s catalogue classics and free to Clubcard (Tesco’s in-store loyalty card) holders.

It’s your first time at the Screenings, why are you in LA?

The real reason is to have early visibility on all of the hot new shows that will be picked up in the UK and to keep abreast of all the changes in the TV landscape. Getting that visibility on what we will be getting helps with marketing, planning and strategy.

2013 LA SCREENINGS BUYER PROFILES

Sarah Wright, controller of acquisitions, BSkyB

Stephen Mowbray, head of acquisitions, SVT

Özlem Özsümbül, Kanal D

Catherine Mackin, director of programme acquisitions, UKTV

Sena Argun, executive VP, SinemaTV