TiVo introduces TiVo service in Boston

January 23, 2008 – US cable TV operator Comcast has launched TiVo’s digital video recorder (DVR) service in the Boston area, over two years after the companies agreed to combine their technologies.

The TiVo service will cost eligible Comcast customers an additional $2.95 per month, in addition to the $12.95 charge per month for Comcast’s DVR service.  TiVo’s DVR software is being downloaded into customers’ Motorola DVR set-top boxes, and TiVo is also working on deploying its software on Scientific Atlanta set-top boxes.

The TiVo service allows subscribers to browse and search for content on Comcast’s video on demand (VOD) and linear TV portals, and will also suggest programmes based on viewer preferences.  The download provides customers with a TiVo interface instead of Comcast’s own GuideWorks interface.

In the past Comcast and TiVo had said that the TiVo service would be available to Comcast subscribers in most markets by mid-2006, but merging the technologies has apparently proved more difficult than initially expected.