Multichannel News has a story about the relationship between Comcast & TiVo. The two companies have been in a relationship for years now, and other than Internet speculation and complaining from people in test markets, you rarely seem to hear anything about it. Now, in an as yet unnamed market, Comcast will be offering TiVo as the primary DVR. While that and the rest of the highlights is progress, the pace seems glacial.
From Multichannel News:
They’re not married yet, but Comcast’s relationship with TiVo is definitely becoming a bigger commitment.
The nation’s No. 1 cable company will make TiVo the “primary” digital video recorder option to customers in a yet-to-be-announced market, and this summer will allow TiVo DVR customers in New England to schedule recordings online, TiVo said last week.
Comcast is “enthusiastic about the TiVo results so far in New England, and they’re looking forward to launching TiVo soon in Chicago,” TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said in announcing earnings for the quarter ended April 30.
In addition, as part of Comcast’s all-digital transition, the operator “will soon present its customers with the option to use the TiVo HD retail box as an alternative to a digital adapter provided by Comcast, with details to be announced soon,” Rogers continued.
There has been so much smoke and mirrors around Comcast & TiVo that it’s hard to know what to believe, the software install of TiVo software on Comcast hardware in the Boston area has been going on for *years* and TiVo doesn’t even mention it much anymore. And it certainly hasn’t boosted TiVo’s MSO subscriber numbers any. That tells me it has been a failure.
If Comcast actually begins to offer HDTiVo’s *instead* of the Motorola boxes they use (and people curse) now, that would be really big for TiVo. But I’m not holding my breath.
Let’s not forget Robert’s potentially prescient post from almost 2 years ago (one of the first posts on the site):
Is Comcast on its Way to Owning TiVo?
The current Comcast+TiVo boxes do not run on TiVo hardware. So it’s unlikely it’d be “instead” of Motorola (or equiv) boxes, but on top of them. I’ve heard similar for the DirecTV hardware, now slated for 2010.
At this point, not sure any MSO would acquire TiVo given the breadth of their relationships, though they presumably have clauses to untie if they are purchased. I believe the Cox agreement did, anyhow. With $200 million in cash, they’ve got a decent runway if they never move another box and keep most of their current subs.
We’ll see…