Blockbuster and Samsung in streaming deal, says report

TV manufacturer Samsung has reportedly struck a deal with Blockbuster to stream rental movies to Samsung Smart TVs and Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the US, Europe and Australia.

According to the Australian consumer electronics website Smarthome, citing sources within Samsung, the company plans to launch in the Blockbuster service in the US, the UK and other European territories in the first half of this year, with Australia possibly set to get access to Blockbuster content via the Samsung platform by September.

Blockbuster, now owned by US pay TV provider DISH Network, plans to terminate its current Australian distribution deal with TiVo next month.

Paul Uniacke, CEO of the Franchise Entertainment Group, which owns the rights to the Blockbuster brand in Australia, was quoted by Smarthome as saying that the agreement was “a brilliant deal” for Australian movie viewers that would result in Blockbuster content being available on a range of devices.

Separately, Samsung has confirmed that it is to spin off its LCD screen business into a separate company that could then be merged with Samsung Mobile Display to crate a single entity for both LCD and OLED display panels. The Korean consumer electronics giant believes that OLED, which enables the creation of ultra-thin display panels, will emerge as the dominant technology in the display industry.