TiVo: HDTV Is Killing Us
But the DVR service hopes its new low-cost HD recorder will turn things around.
By Swanni
The company said today that it added only 41,000 gross subscriptions in the second quarter compared to 74,000 a year ago. Even worse, TiVo's cumulative subscriber total fell from 4.3 million in the first quarter to 4.2 million at the end of quarter two.
The DVR service said it has lost customers because it did not have a viable HD DVR for the millions of Americans who purchased high-def sets over the last year or so.
Until recently, TiVo's HD DVR cost $799, which the company has acknowledged was too expensive to generate serious sales.
"As has been the case in recent quarters, gross subscription additions were impacted by the pace at which retailers moved to a High Definition sales focus," TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said in the company's second quarter report which was released today.
TiVo last month introduced a $299 high-def recorder called 'TiVo HD' and the company said it believes the new product will turn around its high-def efforts.
"Retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City are enthusiastic about our new HD product and are embracing TiVo in new and unique ways including better merchandising, improved floor placement, demos, and more aggressive positioning of TiVo as a centerpiece to an HD media center," Rogers said. "Early indications are that retailer orders are very promising, which we believe will lead to sequential improvements in TiVo-owned gross additions in Q3."
Please click to read Part Two of this article.
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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is
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