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Comcast to provide TiVo based DVRs to customers

After two years of anticipation, U.S. cable television giant Comcast has finally begun installing TiVo based DVRs for test customers. The company intends to continue offering their basic DVR service, which uses non-TiVo hardware, and add the TiVo boxes as a premium DVR service.

Since the 2005 announcement, this deal has been seen as key to TiVo's future. TiVo has previously worked with DirecTV to provide special satellite based DVRs called DirecTiVo, but DirecTV has since decided to go in another direction and provide less expensive DVR boxes.



With DVRs being at the forefront of the battle for customers betwen different television providers, and increases seeming inevitable in the very near future, TiVo is in a position to either form strategic partnerships to grow their business, or falter and become an example of the innovator that couldn't find a workable business model.

Sources:
Associated Press
Reuters

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 11 Oct 2007 19:53

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• 4 comments

• spydah

  I dont think this really matters because they losing plenty of customers were i live because they cost to damn much for half the channels Directv offers. It dont make any sense to up your premium channels every 3-6 months and remove half of them in the process. The tivo feature is nice but wouldnt make go back to being a customer when Directv offers more channels with the same features if not more. The only bonus for them is On-demand but still not enough to switch back.

  12.10.2007 04:31 #1

• duke8888

  You can keep direct tv I am happy in my area with Comcast and I already have Tivo which I got a unit from them just for the cost of shipping. Noway would I go get it from the cable company I rather own my own equipment and hope soon we will be able to own our cable boxes as well. Its all a racket for any of these types of companies.

  13.10.2007 04:06 #2

• derfel

  I've got a Comcast DVR right now. It's pretty good, especially the dual-tuner model, but I'd go for the TIVO-based one if it has more features. This is a big plus for TIVO, as I don't see how they could stay in business without making deals with cable or optic fiber phone companies. (Satellite TV will never be a major player, because it can't compete with cable/FIOS Internet upload speeds, which so many people need for P2P file sharing, lol.)

  13.10.2007 07:26 #3

• borhan9

  Well whatever works for them.

  13.10.2007 12:48 #4