BlinkBox goes all arty, signs deal with British Film Institute

BlinkBox[UK] Online film and TV aggregator BlinkBox has gone all arty on us, signing a content partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI) — bringing the total number of British TV and film titles on offer to over five hundred and the total number of “premium” titles available on the service to just under six thousand.

Seeing BlinkBox, arguably, go a little up market with the BFI partnership sits slightly at odds with the company’s recent credit crunch-busting Pizza Hut promotion or its long term ‘viral’ marketing strategy whereby users can create movie clips – referred to as ‘Blinks’ – to share with friends via email or SMS. But hey, more choice is always welcome.

The new BFI partnership gives users of the UK service access to the institute’s “world-renowned catalogue” of classic British films on a free ad-supported basis, with 37 feature films being made available including Love is the Devil (featuring Daniel Craig), Caravaggio (directed by Derek Jarman), The Draughtsman’s Contract (directed by Peter Greenaway) Distant Voices, Still Lives (directed by Terence Davies) and further films directed by Bill Douglas and Alex Cox.

Additionally, BlinkBox will be offering a BFI ‘Feature Film of the Month’, for purchase and/or rent via streaming or downloading, the first of which will be Stephen Dwoskin’s “challenging experimental” film Central Bazaar.

The service already has licensing deals with a number of studios including Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Aardman Animations. Discovery Networks and FremantleMedia.

BlinkBox was founded by Michael Comish (CEO), formerly managing director of 4 Services at Channel 4, and Adrian Letts (COO), formerly with the mobile content team for Vodafone, and has backing from Arts Alliance, Eden Ventures and Nordic Ventures.