After posting a 26% drop in 2012 holiday sales within its Nook division, Barnes & Noble has taken new measures to boost earnings that include signing content licensing partnerships with major Hollywood studios like Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount for the Nook Video platform.

The content agreements will bring thousands of additional movies and TV shows for all ages to the platform, which offers a catalog of standard and HD movies and shows on the Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets.

Additional studio partners include Relativity Media, National Geographic, Little Pim, and Film Buff. Content includes blockbusters like The Hunger Games and the Twilight series, TV shows like Mad Men and Amazing Planet, as well as educational content via Little Pim, the foreign-language learning program for young children.

Nook Video currently lets customers shop a collection of new releases, blockbuster titles, popular television shows and classics that are available for streaming or download.

Other moves from the retailer to boost Nook sales include the expansion of Nook Free Fridays – a weekly program that allows customers to instantly download complimentary content – to include a different paid Nook app for free. Every Friday, Nook customers can download a different paid book and app directly to their tablets. The new offer is being marked with the giveaway of the OfficeSuite Professional 7 app – a US$14.99 value.

Upcoming free apps will span gaming, entertainment and productivity categories. The platform currently boasts a vast library of digital children’s content.