Cable and IPTV Providers to Eclipse TiVo by 2010?

Press Release - February 9, 2007

Demand for standalone digital video recorders (including TiVo) will decline into oblivion in the coming years, according to Joshua Martin, an analyst with the Yankee Group.

Martin predicts that cable, satellite, and fiber optic video providers will increasingly rent out DVRs for a few dollars a month, or even give them away for free to loyal subscribers, resulting in “the end of TiVo as we know it” by the year 2010.

“TiVo in the last year kind of missed the boat, with the dual tuner DVR, cable and satellite TV providers beat them to that,” Martin explained. “And (TiVo’s High Definition DVR) is really, really expensive. For an $800 entry fee, most people are willing to give that up.”

It seems virtually inevitable that cable companies and incumbent telecom operators will eclipse an independent TiVo Inc. in the fast-growing DVR market, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all hope is lost for the digital video pioneer.

“TiVo has incredible brand value that resonates with customers and it will be an asset to any service provider,” Martin commented, noting that this increases the likelihood of an acquisition.

Distribution partnerships with cable operators may be another option for TiVo, although the company’s only existing such agreement (with Comcast) has failed to yield a commercial product thus far.