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TiVo: HDTV Is Killing Us
But the DVR service hopes its new low-cost HD recorder will turn things around.
By Swanni
TiVo said today that roughly 2.5 million of its 4.2 million subscribers are owners of DIRECTV-TiVo combo DVRs.
DIRECTV, a one-time TiVo marketing partner, is now promoting its own DVR and is encouraging DIRECTV/TiVo HD DVR owners to switch to the satcaster's high-def recorder.
TiVo today also reported a net loss of $17.7 million for the second quarter, in part because of a write-down for inventory on its standard-definition DVR. TiVo had reported a small profit in this year's first quarter and it loss just $6.4 million in last year's second quarter.
Again, the net loss was blamed on high-def.
"Increased consumer demand for High Definition products, which accelerated retailers' movement toward high definition sales, resulted in a continuation of the tepid trend in standard definition sales," Rogers stated. "Consequently, we ended the quarter with higher than anticipated inventory levels of long-lead time components and parts related to our standard definition product."
TiVo also reported an increase in the company's monthly churn rate from 1.1 percent in last year's second quarter to 1.2 percent in this year's.
Why? HDTV.
"This increase was in part due to subscribers seeking HD DVR alternatives," TiVo's Rogers said.
The company also said today that Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, will soon roll out its DVR service to customers in the New England area.
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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is
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