Comments on: TiVo To Sell Fresh, Localized Bad News To Advertisers

By: James Kuenzi

James Kuenzi — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:59:56 +0000

I have had DirecTv since 1999 and added the Tivo ten one box in 2000. A lot has changed since then ecspecially the “skip” button which would leap ahead 30 seconds at a time. It was then Tivo first felt the wrath of TV from both Broadcasters and Cable Networks.

Quickly Tivo eliminated that type of FF however 3x FF speed is close. Never the less I am one of those loyal Tivo/ DirecTv users who is still waiting for the availabilty of a Tivo /HD DVR for DirecTv .
Why do I wait? Because DirecTv also came out with there own box and DVR services only just recently opening up to Tivo again.

Further proof that “better” like Beta versus VHs, Mac vs PC, and Tivo versus generic DVR does not rule market share. TiVo had to evolve to survive!

By: Vision Vs Execution « Raja Jasti’s Blog - Renaissance Thinking

Vision Vs Execution « Raja Jasti’s Blog - Renaissance Thinking — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:32:03 +0000

[...] three main areas: Getting way more content than just broadcast and cable on their box; pioneering Internet-like market research on what people watch down to the second they start fast-forwarding through a commercial, and [...]

By: Execution More Important than Vision? | Blog YODspica Ltd

Execution More Important than Vision? | Blog YODspica Ltd — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:06:23 +0000

By: Is Execution More Important than Vision?

Is Execution More Important than Vision? — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:16:59 +0000

By: Hulu’s Quest For TV Market Share & Social Media Silos // Links for 2009-06-07 | Mostly Marketing - Definitely Digital

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:17:42 +0000

[...] You: TiVo To Sell Fresh, Localized Bad News To Advertisers (via TechCrunch) [...]

By: TiVo’s Jim Denney responds to Engadget! | MyPhillyNetwork

TiVo’s Jim Denney responds to Engadget! | MyPhillyNetwork — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:18:11 +0000

[...] You: TiVo To Sell Fresh, Localized Bad News To Advertisers (via TechCrunch) (techcrunch.com) [...]

By: Tivo Advertising Strategies | YAYDD

Tivo Advertising Strategies | YAYDD — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:34:43 +0000

[...] it came out that Tivo would sell localized viewer data to advertisiers showing what people record and skip. Then today they announced that they would [...]

By: blog 4: Tivo sells customer data as company starts a downward spiral. « informatics i101

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:23:22 +0000

[...] http://www.tech...to-advertisers/ [...]

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:38:59 +0000

EVEN IF THIS NEW STRATEGY WORKS, IT DOES NOT SOLVE TIVO’S WOES. If the cable companies detect a lucrative business in selling viewer data, they have far larger and more representative customer bases and can easily rejigger their boxes to report viewership at whatever time increments (several may in fact already have this unreported capability).

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:16:02 +0000

Amen Marcus, I just got my TIVO this month and I am floored by how awesome it is with streaming video from my PC. I had a Dishnetwork DVR that was nice but TIVO is the Major League and Dish is the JR league. The only time i wish I had cable was to watch sports but I might sign up for cable during football season.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:57:27 +0000

I’ve been a TiVo customer since October 2007 and I haven’t looked back. I did not have a DVR prior to that, but due to my cable company lying to me and me not fact checking them, I was without my TiVo HD for about a month after moving last year. The HD box the CableCo gave me had a built in DVR, but it was a horrible experience. I wasn’t able to accurately record only new episodes of shows without a TON of hassle, the UI looks like it is from an 8-bit Nintendo, and I can’t stream Netflix, Amazon VOD, or transfer movies ripped from DVD from my computer. The CableCo box can’t suggest shows similar to ones I already record to get even more shows I may like. The CableCo box wasn’t able to offer in depth information on future shows, and I couldn’t set the box to record certain sports teams without having to check and program each and every week. IE, my Wishlist for Arkansas Razorbacks football. The list is endless, really.

The thing with TiVo is it has evolved into much more than just a DVR. With the streaming options now available and the spreading of OTA HD content, you could completely dump your cable and still see all the major network shows. I won’t get into other less legal methods you could use to download content from Discovery, Comedy Central, History Channel, etc and put it on your TiVo.

By: bizzy

bizzy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:56:15 +0000

“I would bet that anyone who took the initiative to buy a TiVo — a separate box that costs a few hundred dollars and requires a subscription fee on top of your cable bill — skips through just about all commercials, period.”

You would be dead wrong. There have been studies done already that showed most TiVo users do not skip commercials. In fact, most users still watch live tv even if they are recording a particular show.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:36:19 +0000

Ankush,
Your idea is definitely out there. A genuinely great one. As another poster said, TiVO is really a software company with a platform and a great brand but losing steam. I for one would pay even more than you suggest. Remains to be seen if TiVO or someone else will take on the tiger.

By: Alex R.

Alex R. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:12:02 +0000

And yet… Macs still only have ~7-8% market share.

Since the article says that Tivo users are actually dropping, it’s logically to assume that price difference-to-value gap of the Tivo is much larger than the Mac.

Is there any way Tivo could turn this customer data into a larger enough business that the box could become a loss leader?

Tivo could give away the hardware for free/near free, or they could make the software open source, and get the cable companies to adopt it.

By: Dan Woolley

Dan Woolley — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:28:34 +0000

“The cable companies DVRs are absolutely dreadful, but they are cheaper, and come in cable boxes.” PCs are cheaper than Macs too – I choose Mac, I choose Tivo.

By: anon

anon — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:21:40 +0000

or: Tivo makes it clear who its customers really are.

By: Ankush Narula

Ankush Narula — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:17:05 +0000

Help who, TiVo? Simple – they continue selling TiVo boxes, TiVo software, and TiVo content guide/aggregation services. If their users have unencumbered access to the local loop, then they (and other IPTV companies) have a chance to compete against the local loop monopolies. Ultimately, this is fantastic for consumers because we have more choices as well.

By: fun watching the chaos (slight return)

fun watching the chaos (slight return) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:59:21 +0000

How is that supposed to help?

By: fun watching the chaos (slight return)

fun watching the chaos (slight return) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:57:40 +0000

EVERYTHING IS RACIST, SEXIST AND HAS RANCID B.O.

Get over yourself.

By: Happy Monday! | Dylan Combs

Happy Monday! | Dylan Combs — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:56:26 +0000

[...] TiVo To Sell Fresh, Localized Bad News To Advertisers [...]

By: Ankush Narula

Ankush Narula — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:54:02 +0000

This subject makes me nuts. TiVo has struggled to survive precisely by acquiescing to advertisers and cable companies. Subscriber attrition is the direct result of monopoly local loop content distributors and back-room deals with DVR manufacturers in every major television market.

If I were heading TiVo, it would be my goal to supplant both the incumbent DVR manufacturers and the local loop content distributors by (a) establishing direct content distribution deals with all of the major television networks all distributed P2P via the Internet and (b) charge users $10/month for TiVo, but give them exactly what they want: time-shifted, a la carte access to all television content on their home television sets.

In the meantime, TiVo, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Google, and all of the other video content providers on the Internet need to fight for net neutrality and against bandwidth caps so consumers have such choices.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:07:26 +0000

Allabout TIVO @ http://search.m...amp;q=Tivo#1231

By: FRIED PAL BLOGGER >>>>>

FRIED PAL BLOGGER >>>>> — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:19:55 +0000

Well, I think it will be better now. Time and experience will make Tivo be in the competition always.

By: David Ord

David Ord — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:49:30 +0000

This is racist.

By: Jason Nazar

Jason Nazar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:48:56 +0000

MG, I’ve always seen TIVO as more of software rather than hardware company. Its a fantastic brand, and I’d still rather have it sitting in my living room than any other competitor.

Personally I’m excited to see if they can keep pace with the innovation they started. Time will tell, maybe there’s a fast forward button in the works for that…

and i don’t think I’ve watched a TV commercial in the last three years