Comcast approves TiVo software for digital video recorders

July 2, 2007 - Digital video recording software firm TiVo has announced that US cable operator Comcast has approved its software for inclusion in its digital video recorders (DVRs).

An agreement was initially drawn up in March 2005 to offer Comcast’s customers the option to download TiVo software onto its DVRs for an extra fee, but integration difficulties have hindered the cooperation, and the announcement was finally made days before a 30 June deadline.  Among the extra features arising from the cooperation are the option to search video-on-demand (VOD) content, however TiVo’s new Universal Swivel Search, which allows users to locate programs from broadcast and cable television and Internet/broadband content, will not be included in the initial rollout, according to TiVo’s CEO, Tom Rogers.  “We have made significant progress on work related to the Comcast product.  The trials are progressing well and will include limited subscriber deployment between now and the early summer,” Rogers added.

The rollout is expected to begin on a commercial basis from August 2007 in its New England division, including Boston, south-eastern Massachusetts, and parts of New Hampshire, with Comcast and TiVo already reportedly conducting tests in the Boston area.  Rogers commented on Comcast’s plans to market and price the new product: “I’m not at liberty to disclose that now.  I would say that it will be a very attractive way to be able to get the TiVo service.”

TiVo reported a first-quarter net profit of US$ 835,000, compared to a net loss of $10.7mn in the same period of the previous year, and service and technology revenue rose from $55mn to $58.1mn by the same comparison.  The company reported that it added 57,000 new subscribers in the first three months of 2007, compared to 91,000 in the same period of the previous year, and had a total subscriber base of 1.7mn by the end of March 2007.