Sainsbury's cooking up on-demand video service with Rovi

Forget Netflix, Lovefilm, Sky and all the rest -- Sainsbury's wants to be your go-to destination for streaming movies and TV shows.

The orange-tinted supermarket is launching an on-demand video service for the Sainsbury's Entertainment store later this year, promising that customers will get "convenient access to an extensive library of film and TV."

New additions will arrive "often on the same day" as they become available on DVD or Blu-ray, Sainsbury's vows. To start with the service will only be available on your computer, but is pegged to make its way onto smart tellies, Blu-ray players, games consoles and -- of course -- smart phones.

The service is launching later this year, I've enquired about a more specific date, as well as video playback quality, and I'll let you know as soon as I hear something.

Rather than building a new shop and player from scratch, the streaming service will be a rebranded version of Rovi's Entertainment Store.

Sainsbury's, which was founded in 1869, isn't the only high-street shop that's trying to sell you movies on demand. Tesco owns a stake in BlinkBox and gives you digital copies when you buy a DVD or Blu-ray in store, while Dixons Retail has the Knowhow movies shop, also powered by Rovi.

There's a lot of competition out there for your dosh, so if Sainsbury's wants to win me over, I'll be looking for a comprehensive selection of films and shows. Aisle believe it when I see it (geddit?).

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