TiVo Throws Hail Mary With New Set-Tops

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TiVo Throws Hail Mary With New Set-Tops
TVPredictions.com

Washington, D.C. (March 3, 2010) -- TiVo last night unveiled two new set-tops that will combine DVR recording of cable and satellite programming and Internet content from companies such as Amazon, Netflix and Blockbuster.

Called Premiere and Premiere XL, the set-tops will cost $299 and $500 respectively. Additionally, users will have to pay a $12.99 monthly subscription fee.

The Premiere box will store up to 45 hours of high-def programming (or 400 hours of standard-def programming) while the Premiere XL will hold up to 150 hours of HD programming or up to 1,350 hours of standard-def programming.

The combination of cable/satellite programming and Internet video is what TiVo hopes will make the boxes unique. The set-top will display an interface that will feature listings from both cable and satellite channels and related content from the Internet.

For example, the listings might note Lost is playing on ABC and that past seasons of the drama can be ordered and viewed through Netflix's streaming video service.

Read more below.

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TiVo said the boxes will be available in early April at retail stores such as Best Buy. The first set-tops will work with cable services and Verizon's FiOS.

TiVo said a separate box that will work with DIRECTV will be introduced later this year, but it may not have all the features that's available on the retail set-tops.

Cable provider RCN also announced last night that it would offer the set-top as a DVR option to its customers.

TiVo's new boxes are designed to help the company turnaround its fortunes. In recent years. the company's subscription totals have fallen from 4.4 million in 2006 to 2.7 million in late 2009.

Swanni's Take:
TiVo should have learned by now that Americans are not buying DVRs at retail, no matter what features they offer.

Why?

It's too easy to get them from their cable and satellite providers.

This is why TiVo's sub numbers have fallen off the cliff in the last three years. Instead of paying $299 (or $500) for a retail DVR, the average person simply asks his TV provider to bring one to the house! He then agrees to pay a monthly fee for the DVR service -- a fee which is less than what TiVo charges!

Adding Internet video will not change this, particularly with the set-top prices and subscription fees that TiVo is demanding.

Making matter worse for TiVo, the company's licensing deals with TV providers such as Comcast, Cox and DIRECTV have been stalled at the gate. It may not be until 2011 before TiVo starts to see even a small increase in subscribers from these partnerships.

My prediction: TiVo, which has an impressive DVR patent portfolio, will sell those patents and ride into the sunset in 2-3 years; maybe sooner.

Also see:
Consumer Reports: 'Best Buys' For HDTVs

10 Best-Selling Blu-ray Movies!

Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com
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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

Click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.

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