New figures released by Tesco show that the retail giant lost £40 million on its music and entertainment outlet, Blinkbox, last year. Pre-tax losses for Blinkbox Music almost trebled to £12.5 million, while Blinkbox Entertainment lost £29.5 million.
The entire Blinkbox venture (movies and television, music, books) was sold or in the case of Blinkbox Books, abandoned altogether as a part of new chief executive Dave Lewis's cost-cutting plan.
Blinkbox Entertainment was sold to TalkTalk for £25 million, while Blinkbox Music was sold for £5 million to Guvera, a rival music streaming service.
The losses show just how much Tesco's attempt to break into the entertainment sector cost it, and share prices dipped slightly as a result.
The abandoning of Blinkbox was one of the first major announcements by Lewis as Tesco overhauls its store in an attempt to recoup on losses and battle with German discounters.
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