[opendtv] At TiVo, a Risk of Being Skipped Over

At TiVo, a Risk of Being Skipped Over

By LAURA RICH
August 27, 2005

SINCE its first digital video recorder made its debut in 1999, TiVo 
has grown into a pop culture fixture and even worked its way into the 
lexicon ("to TiVo," is to record a television program). But as it 
turns out, that's not enough to achieve market domination in any 
practical sense. TiVo's 50 percent share of the current user base is 
still only three million households, and the company has posted 
losses throughout its eight years. Even when it finally turned a 
corner, on Wednesday, posting a profit of $240,000 for the second 
quarter, its shares dropped as the company backed away from promising 
sustained profitability.

What's more, earlier this month, DirecTV, which accounts for about 
two-thirds of TiVo's distribution, announced that it would stop 
marketing TiVo to its customers (although it will be available to 
those who request it). Instead, DirecTV will push a digital video 
recorder from the NDS Group, in which DirecTV's parent, the News 
Corporation, holds a stake.

Recently, TiVo's chief executive, Thomas S. Rogers, who was brought 
in on July 1, discussed the impact of the DirecTV announcement and 
TiVo's distribution plans. Following are excerpts from that 
conversation:

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/27/business/27interview.html

 
 
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