X

Tesco Clubcard TV has free on-demand telly, sign-in wobbles

The service brings free movies and TV shows to anyone with a Tesco Clubcard, but it isn't working just yet.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read

The fun of shopping at Tesco no longer has to end when you leave the supermarket -- now you can immerse yourself in Tesco all through the evening, with the company's new streaming service, Clubcard TV.

Update: Blinkbox, the company that powers Clubcard TV, has been in touch via Twitter to explain that the service is being switched on for the public this spring, and is currently only available to Tesco staff members -- hence our failure to sign up. The original story continues below.

The service is free for anyone who possesses a Tesco Clubcard (if you don't have one, it's free to sign up), and puts a slew of movies and TV shows at your on-demand disposal, at the impressive price of precisely zero pounds. Batman, Goodness Gracious Me and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps are among the available programmes, the Telegraph reports.

The service is very similar to rivals such as Netflix or Lovefilm Instant, except for the lack of a monthly subscription fee, and the promise of more horse meat. You select what you want to watch, and the programme or film is streamed via your broadband connection.

At the moment the service seems limited to in-browser streaming, though as Tesco's promo video cheerily informs us, you can hook your computer up to your telly using an HDMI cable.

Teething woes

Signing up for the service appears to be borked at present, with three Clubcard-clutching CNET members unable to proceed past the Clubcard number entry page, which sees the site demanding a 'Privilege Card number'.

Privilege Cards are something given to staff once they've worked with the company for six months, so perhaps the service has been tested internally, and the supermarket forgot to turn off the Privilege Card number requirement.

Rival £6-per-month service Netflix recently launched its homemade House of Cards series, starring Kevin Spacey. Sainsburys, meanwhile, already has its own video-streaming service.

Have you been able to sign up? Are you impressed with the range of movies and TV available, or is the service devoid of compelling programmes? Let me know in the comments, or on our 100 per cent beef Facebook wall.