Post by dkennedy on May 31, 2007 5:56:08 GMT -5
TiVo: Comcast to Launch DVR Service in August
The service will first be rolled out in New England.
May 31, 2007
By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com
TiVo CEO Tom Rogers yesterday said Comcast plans to launch its DVR service in the New England area this August.
In March of 2005, the companies signed a multi-year agreement to offer TiVo's Digital Video Recording service to Comcast customers, starting in mid to late 2006. (The service will include recording for both High-Definition and standard-definition programming.) However, the launch has been pushed back for a variety of reasons, including software development issues.
But Rogers yesterday said Comcast's testing of TiVo's DVR software is progressing well and it plans a "commercial launch" for August in Metro Boston, Southwest Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The TiVo CEO did not offer details for when Comcast will add the DVR service to other markets. But he said the cable operator may offer TiVo in some areas this summer as part of its testing process.
Rogers would not reveal what Comcast plans to charge for its service.
"Comcast has done a lot of thinking in that regard, both as to price and how it will be offered and we are consulting with them on various aspects of that marketing...I would say that it will be a very attractive way to be able to get the TiVo service when the monthly price is known," he said.
Rogers made his comments during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. The company yesterday released its first quarter report, which showed its first-ever quarterly profit.
However, TiVo also reported that its total number of subscribers actually fell slightly to 4.3 million.
Rogers blamed several reasons for the subscriber decline, including the company's inability to offer a less expensive High-Definition DVR.
TiVo's Series 3 HD DVR has a suggested retail price of $799, although it's offering a one-month $200 rebate as a Father's Day promotion.
"We did not have a lower-priced mass appeal HD offering. As we indicated last quarter, given the price of our Series 3 unit, we have not been able to meaningfully participate in the HD wave in retail," Rogers said.
Rogers said the company will offer a cheaper HD DVR later this year.
"We continue to make progress toward a lower-priced, mass appeal, High Definition unit, which will become available later this year, and will complement the important role that TiVo is playing in working with retailers to offer High Definition products and services to consumers," he said.
Rogers also noted the company's continued lack of new subscribers from one-time marketing partner DIRECTV. The satcaster severed its marketing relationship with TiVo a few years ago, although it still provides service to existing TiVo-DIRECTV customers.
Asked if the Comcast launch could help offset the loss of new subscribers from DIRECTV, Rogers said:
"Certainly over time we would hope and expect that the level of Comcast subscribers that we gain is greater than the DIRECTV churn that we face. The question is how long it will take the Comcast rollout in multiple markets to occur and from there, the uptick that we would hope would follow. So we don't have any prediction as to when Comcast gains will offset DIRECTV losses, but certainly upon introduction that won't be the case," he said.
Pressed as to why it's taking Comcast so long to launch its service, Rogers was short on details.
"Well, I should say that there are a number of dependencies that TiVo has in terms of the rollout of TiVo to Comcast that goes beyond the completion of our software development work for Comcast. I'm not at liberty to discuss those, but there are other things beyond TiVo's work here which need to come together for purposes of the rollout. I think it's fair to say that Comcast wants to make sure that all elements of the system necessary to roll out and support this type of application are fully looked at and fully tested," he said.
Rogers said Comcast's TiVo service will include the ability to search their Video on Demand lineup.
The service will first be rolled out in New England.
May 31, 2007
By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com
TiVo CEO Tom Rogers yesterday said Comcast plans to launch its DVR service in the New England area this August.
In March of 2005, the companies signed a multi-year agreement to offer TiVo's Digital Video Recording service to Comcast customers, starting in mid to late 2006. (The service will include recording for both High-Definition and standard-definition programming.) However, the launch has been pushed back for a variety of reasons, including software development issues.
But Rogers yesterday said Comcast's testing of TiVo's DVR software is progressing well and it plans a "commercial launch" for August in Metro Boston, Southwest Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The TiVo CEO did not offer details for when Comcast will add the DVR service to other markets. But he said the cable operator may offer TiVo in some areas this summer as part of its testing process.
Rogers would not reveal what Comcast plans to charge for its service.
"Comcast has done a lot of thinking in that regard, both as to price and how it will be offered and we are consulting with them on various aspects of that marketing...I would say that it will be a very attractive way to be able to get the TiVo service when the monthly price is known," he said.
Rogers made his comments during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. The company yesterday released its first quarter report, which showed its first-ever quarterly profit.
However, TiVo also reported that its total number of subscribers actually fell slightly to 4.3 million.
Rogers blamed several reasons for the subscriber decline, including the company's inability to offer a less expensive High-Definition DVR.
TiVo's Series 3 HD DVR has a suggested retail price of $799, although it's offering a one-month $200 rebate as a Father's Day promotion.
"We did not have a lower-priced mass appeal HD offering. As we indicated last quarter, given the price of our Series 3 unit, we have not been able to meaningfully participate in the HD wave in retail," Rogers said.
Rogers said the company will offer a cheaper HD DVR later this year.
"We continue to make progress toward a lower-priced, mass appeal, High Definition unit, which will become available later this year, and will complement the important role that TiVo is playing in working with retailers to offer High Definition products and services to consumers," he said.
Rogers also noted the company's continued lack of new subscribers from one-time marketing partner DIRECTV. The satcaster severed its marketing relationship with TiVo a few years ago, although it still provides service to existing TiVo-DIRECTV customers.
Asked if the Comcast launch could help offset the loss of new subscribers from DIRECTV, Rogers said:
"Certainly over time we would hope and expect that the level of Comcast subscribers that we gain is greater than the DIRECTV churn that we face. The question is how long it will take the Comcast rollout in multiple markets to occur and from there, the uptick that we would hope would follow. So we don't have any prediction as to when Comcast gains will offset DIRECTV losses, but certainly upon introduction that won't be the case," he said.
Pressed as to why it's taking Comcast so long to launch its service, Rogers was short on details.
"Well, I should say that there are a number of dependencies that TiVo has in terms of the rollout of TiVo to Comcast that goes beyond the completion of our software development work for Comcast. I'm not at liberty to discuss those, but there are other things beyond TiVo's work here which need to come together for purposes of the rollout. I think it's fair to say that Comcast wants to make sure that all elements of the system necessary to roll out and support this type of application are fully looked at and fully tested," he said.
Rogers said Comcast's TiVo service will include the ability to search their Video on Demand lineup.
