Tivo and Netflix marry services after four years of flirting
It seems like such a natural fit and it’s been a long time coming, but finally Tivo and Netflix are building a synergy between their two services. Tivo owners with a more recent version of hardware will be able to stream Netflix videos straight to their TV. Series2 Tivo owners will still need a $99 Roku box.
In 2004 Tivo and Netflix made public a desire to team up their services, but Netflix ran into some difficulties working out licensing deals with content owners, according to the Associated Press. Right now the streaming service is in testing with several thousand Tivo owners and it should be ready for a company-wide launch in December.
This deal will be another tool in Tivo’s arsenal focused on creating a competitive advantage over cable company provided DVRs. It already has partnerships with Amazon’s Unbox and Google’s YouTube to bring online video into the living room.
Netflix is looking to shift more of its users over to downloaded content as it’s cheaper to send videos as data instead of shipping DVDs. The company is even streaming some content from current primetime shows, including season three of Heroes.
Tivo is enthusiastic about the deal,
“Joining forces with Netflix creates the ultimate video on demand service and solidifies TiVo’s leading position as the one-box solution for aggregating, searching, and delivering the best content available anywhere right to the TV,” said Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo Inc. “Adding Netflix to our already vast library of content differentiates TiVo even further from any other offering in the market today.”
It’s difficult to digest the missing segment of Tivo Series2 owners, though that could be another way the company is looking to encourage an upgrade purchase. Of course, the $99 Roku player is also an option. And with 12,000 titles available from Netflix, content from cable providers may become optional.
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