Tivo and Comcast Reach a Deal

After months of declining stock value, leadership "resignations", increased (and arguably better) competition, Tivo has finally signed a deal with Comcast to provide Tivo software in Comcast set-top boxes. For those of you who don't know, up until today's announcement, Tivo was widely viewed as being in a "sink or swim" situation. With cable and satellite companies rolling out their own digital video recorders (DVRs), Tivo faced stiff competition from companies who were charging around $10.00 per month for similar and in some cases better service than Tivo was offering for $13.00 per month + the cost of the actual Tivo (anywhere from $80-200). In fact, Tivo resorted to giving away Tivo units for free in one market to compete with the new cable DVRs being introduced.

Tivo absolutely had to strike a deal with someone to survive. And when previous talks with Comcast broke down months ago, industry watchers and Tivo enthusiasts feared the end of the company that started and set the standard for the DVR industry. Today's announcement will bring the Tivo name and technology to the nation's largest cable television provider (which is really where it belongs). Indeed, the market has already reacted to the news.

My parents have had Tivo for over a year and love it, and if you've ever used Tivo yourself, you no doubt have fallen in love with it also. It's ease of use (its remote control won a design award), attractive menus, and nearly flawless operation make watching what you want at the time you want to watch it as simple as possible. Another attractive feature is that, unlike a VCR, Tivo can be programmed to record a show in around 15 seconds. It is a fun and easy device to use. In fact, I bought a Tivo almost a year ago and loved it for around a month until returning it because Comcast had announced it would introduce its own DVR service. I simply couldn't justify paying the extra $3.00 per month + the cost of the actual Tivo when I could get similar service from Comcast for significantly less. Granted, you will never own your cable or satellite DVR because you're essentially just renting it, but with how fast technology improves these days, do you really want to own it? Despite the savings in cost, I was disappointed because I knew Comcast's DVRs would lack the design and overall attractiveness that Tivo has become known for. Today's news makes me happy for waiting.

The only real disadvantages of this agreement are 1) the possible increase in rates for the Tivo-powered Comcast DVR; and 2) that it will likely be much harder for the thousands of Tivo owners who enjoy "hacking" their Tivos to make any changes to their rented DVRs. On a side note, I was able to upgrade my parents' Tivo to give them 3 times the storage space than their Tivo offered. Although it took a couple weeks of research, studying, and asking questions to people online, upgrading the Tivo is surprisingly quick and easy and I could do it in around 10 minutes now. If you're interested in knowing more or want help with upgrading your own Tivo, make a post or drop me an email and I'll see if I can help you through it.