DVRs for the masses
Red Herring has a great article about the DVR space, the major players (surprise: TiVo isn't #1), and where the market is headed in the future. The main thrust of the article is all about the recent trends of free DVRs provided by cable and satellite companies and their embracing of the technology to bolster customer retention (the same companies that once considered them the "napster of TV").
DVRs have not moved beyond 4 percent household penetration level in the U.S. but pay-TV providers are betting the technology will become a major force. They intend to dish out an estimated 15 million DVRs into consumer homes over the next few years in one of the largest examples of push marketing ever.
"EchoStar is leading the charge in order to better compete against cable. In doing so, EchoStar’s Dish Network has become the largest DVR company in the U.S. with 11.3 million subscribers. DirecTV, which offers a TiVo-branded DVR for its satellite service, has about 350,000 customers. "
could this be MORE inaccurate ??? TIVO as of late nov or early dec will have 1 million PAYING subscribers- i believe dish has about 1 million, many of them NON PAYING
Posted by: kevin | October 21, 2003 at 06:27 PM
Kevin, aren't EchoStar's customers ALL paying customers, even if they did not pay for the PVR separately?
Posted by: Gen Kanai | October 22, 2003 at 04:04 AM