In strategic shift, Comcast, TiVo team up
Move is 1st step toward a more open platform
Comcast begins rolling out TiVo service today - complete with its characteristic chirpy sound effects - to digital video recorder customers willing to pay a monthly premium.
The new alliance represents a chance for TiVo, the company that basically created the digital video recorder category, to reach a large customer base without requiring people to buy separate pricey hardware. But few people are looking to add more fees to their burgeoning cable bills.
"TiVo is clearly the leader in terms of innovation on DVRs, so most products built by other companies - most of the DVR products you see are provided by cable or satellite companies and are competitive with TiVo - but not as slick and not as cool," said David Card, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. The alliance is "good for TiVo because TiVo maybe proves itself as a technology licenser for a broader audience. But the key question is, is it cool and slick enough to justify a premium price?"
Customers who sign up for the new service, now available only in Greater Boston, will add an extra $2.95 per month onto their cable programming package - plus the $12.95 per month for Comcast digital video recorder service.
The new service is Comcast's first step toward using a new cable platform called Tru2way, meant to spur innovation by allowing developers to create applications that can work across different set-top boxes and equipment.
The TiVo service allows browsing of Comcast's On Demand programming and television content in one directory, including the ability to look for programming by keyword. By typing in "Clooney," for instance, it's possible to find movies like "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" through On Demand or other TV specials featuring George Clooney.
The new service also includes a "suggestions" function that uses a viewer's preferences to recommend other programming they might enjoy and automatically record it. Comcast's TiVo service also comes with a peanut-shaped remote that allows people to give programs a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" that helps train their cable box about preferences.
"The Boston market is really ground zero with Comcast for deploying next-generation applications and services, it's really been a pioneer" market, said Kevin Casey, president of Comcast's northern division, who said that in the beta-testing for the product, his TiVo automatically recorded some of his favorite World War II shows.
TiVo's deal with Comcast does set TiVo in competition with itself, but it also gives the company an easier way to reach more customers with the interface and service that has earned the company devoted fans.
"For Comcast, it's an opportunity to provide an experience users love," said David Sandford, TiVo's vice president of product marketing for service provider division, noting that it was also an inexpensive way for people to get the "core TiVo experience" without buying TiVo hardware and service in addition to cable.
The new interface is more TiVo-like and is designed to be an improvement over what Comcast customers are used to seeing, but Card said the cable company's biggest problem would be educating customers about the service and convincing them it was worth paying extra. The software download can be pushed automatically to a set-top box, but Comcast will send a service technician to help with installation and demonstration.
The deal also signifies the larger shift in the cable industry as content continues to proliferate. Cable customers need to navigate a slew of channels and On Demand programs today, but eventually may face a future of seemingly infinite content on TV.
"Eventually you're going to have to be able to search across the Internet," Card said. "What you need is graceful integration."
Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com. 