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Tivo, Netflix Partner on Web Streaming

Reuters Group — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:46:04 +0000

Netflix Inc said on Wednesday it reached a deal with TiVo Inc to further deliver on its goal of offering Netflix’s Web streaming service directly to televisions through many devices.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it calls for Netflix to provide subscribers of its online DVD rental service and many of the 800,000 broadband-connected Tivo subscribers with the ability to stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” service to TVs free of charge.
TiVo, maker of the popular digital video recorder, and Netflix said late on Wednesday they were initiating a test of the new capability in several thousand U.S. households and expect it will be broadly available in early December.
Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” Web streaming service, with a library of more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes, is offered free to its more than 8 million subscribers.
The company is moving aggressively to extend that streaming service from the PC to TV while facing challenges from the likes of Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
Netflix recently struck a deal for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s Blu-ray DVD devices to play video streamed from Netflix and a similar deal with Blu-ray DVD player maker LG Electronics. It also has deals to stream movies to Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 videogame consoles and to a $100 set-top box made by Roku Inc.
In recent years, TiVo has developed add-on features to help differentiate its DVRs from that of cable and satellite TV providers that often offer basic DVRs at cheaper prices.
It allows users to rent videos from Amazon and watch them on TVs, and this past summer began enabling some customers to watch online videos from Google Inc’s YouTube on their televisions.
“The YouTube service on Tivo is extremely popular,” said Tara Maitra, vice president and general manager of content services at TiVO, who said over 65 percent of its broadband-connected subscribers were taking advantage of the broadband features.
“I think everyone’s trying to figure out the right business model, and they want to get their content on as many platforms as available,” she said.
Courtesy of Reuters Group.

Sue Zeidler is a reporter for Reuters.com.

YouTube Goes to Hollywood

Kathleen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:39:20 +0000

ADOTAS – Is YouTube’s frosty relationship with Hollywood about to thaw? Perhaps: YouTube is kicking off its diplomatic push by bringing its game to TiVo beginning today.

TiVo will offer (the roughly 20% of its 3.8 million subscribers with the right equipment) the option of streaming YouTube videos onto their TVs or through broadband-enabled TiVo boxes. This is TiVo’s first foray into streaming online content, though it does have partnerships with online sites that provide content to TiVo.

YouTube also penned a deal with Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. in which YouTube will feature ad-supported film clips on its site. The companies will share the revenue from ads, but the split has not been disclosed. YouTube is also reportedly in talks with other Hollywood studios in an attempt to form similar relationships. (And no, they’re not talking to Viacom).

In other online/TV news, Amazon has launched a beta version of its new film-and-TV store, “Amazon Video on Demand.” It offers 40,000 movies and TV shows for immediate viewing online. Amazon is also partnering with Sony to send the on-demand service to Sony TV sets.

TiVo Brings Brightcove Content to Regular Television

Sarah Novotny — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:52:24 +0000

DVR service provider TiVo and internet TV provider Brightcove will bring online video content into the living room through the set-top TiVo DVR. The two companies will bring various video content providers on-board over the next several months, gradually expanding the amount of downloadable TiVo content.

Eventually, anyone who publishes online video will be able to deliver their content to TiVo subscribers through Brightcove’s publishing system. Both companies see as an opportunity for online video providers to generate revenue through advertising, pay-per-view, and subscriptions. As the program kicks off, all content will be free, with some video supported by advertising.

“TiVo subscribers will gain access to the largest, most powerful content platform ever offered — the Internet. If it’s on Brightcove, you’ll be able to watch it on your TV using your TiVo box,” said Brightcove founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire in a statement. The partnership will also eventually let users search for video through their PC and save it to their TiVo box to watch at their leisure. TiVo subscribers will also be able to discover Brightcove video through the TiVo Central content management system on their set-top boxes.

TiVo Taps into Choose-Your-Own-Commercials Option

Sarah Novotny — Mon, 08 May 2006 15:40:19 +0000

TV networks and advertisers claim that TiVo and other DVR services kill their ad revenue by letting users “fast forward” through TV commercials. Today, to help reverse that image, TiVo launches Product Watch, a service that lets TiVo subscribers choose which ads they want to see. Now advertisers can reach TiVo users without relying on the much-maligned 30 second spot. Users will be able to search through ad and product information spots ranging in length from 1 to 60 minutes from five different ad categories like finance, travel, and lifestyle.

More than 70 advertisers have signed up for the launch of Product Watch, including well-known advertisers like General Motors, Kraft Foods, and Sony Pictures. Ads from these companies are served to TiVo viewers on an opt-in basis. “TiVo Product Watch will, for the first time, enable TV viewers to get commercial information about a product they are interested, when they want it, rather than through traditional TV advertising, where a viewer has no control of what ad comes on when they are watching a program,” said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers in a statement. Since they’re directly searched for by the viewer, Product Watch ads will typically provide more product information and content that the usual flash and pizzazz of the 30-second spot.