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I talked to a LA Times reporter yesterday about some upcoming TiVo features (nope, not TiVo To Go), and all I can say is your jaw will likely drop when you hear about it, but not in a good way. I won't say anything more, but look into tomorrow's LA Times for the full skinny. Heads will roll.

by Matt Haughey November 16, 2004 in TiVo

Comments

Is this another article about the DRM/MacroVision additions?

Posted by: MegaZone at Nov 16, 2004 5:48:46 PM

What could it be? Please share the news with us...

Posted by: Alex at Nov 16, 2004 5:56:35 PM

At least some hint...

Posted by: New York at Nov 16, 2004 5:57:42 PM

Nope, way worse than more DRM.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Nov 16, 2004 5:58:19 PM

No DirecTiVo deal renewal? That probably doesn't count as huge news anymore, and their contract is good for another yearish anyway.

Posted by: Joost Schuur at Nov 16, 2004 6:02:06 PM

The news should be out tomorrow morning, so I'll stay quiet until then.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Nov 16, 2004 6:07:55 PM

Locking the fast fwd during commercials would be pretty bad. If that happened, I would just build that MythTv box I've been wanting. I've always thought that it was a bad thing that the PVR market seems to only support one major player.

We'll see what this hubub is about.

-adam

Posted by: Adam at Nov 16, 2004 6:13:21 PM

It's poor form to float a "bad news" prediction yet not be willing to share the news. Shame on you. It smacks of the sad exit polls "predictions" during the election, which made you bloggers look like fools...as usual.

Posted by: pvrfan at Nov 16, 2004 6:21:40 PM

Any insight on todays rumor that TiVo is days away from announcing injunctive relief against EchoStar?

Posted by: New York at Nov 16, 2004 6:28:46 PM

Given that Tivo's doing everything to squander the goodwill generated until this last year, I doubt that I'll be surprised.

My guesses:

1. Tivo acquired by MSFT. Tivo becomes yet another Media Center client. Tivo abandons previous TivoToGo plans.

2. Tivo deploys useless digital-cable ready boxes. No CableCard, or CableCard boxes that are crippled with respect to recording premium of hi-def content.

3. Tivo deploys some other form of content sharing. The downside - only accessible through voodoo combinations that would make the most privacy-ignorant people squeam.

Seriously though, Tivo seems to not want me as a subscriber. I was eying the EyeTV products earlier today and they are starting to look good.

BTW, you suck for teasing us like this. Now, I'll get up first thing in the morning just to find out what the bad news is. :-P

Posted by: Chris at Nov 16, 2004 6:54:06 PM

TIVO NEWS COMING.... DEVELOPING STORY.... MUST CREDIT PVRBLOG.

You bloggers look like fools! I think that every day when I read your blogs!

Posted by: Anil at Nov 16, 2004 7:41:49 PM

It took us here at TiVo a while to figure out what you might be talking about, but we're still not sure because the worst things we've seen coming don't seem that bad. So maybe it's a hot button issue for you (and perhaps lots of others), but the feature we've seen UI prototypes for is a form of banner ads. Keep in mind that we've seen UI prototypes for a lot of stuff that never sees the light of TV. The prototype I saw was plenty tasteful and easy to ignore, and if it were to be implemented in a release for public consumption, it's a long ways away. It was also part of (a demo of) a really nice set of features which were mostly beautiful and useful, and designed in response to often-heard requests and comments from users. Y'know, it's not like the UI and application teams that built this stuff in the first place suddenly became a bunch of bumbling morons.

If it's a company acquisition, none of us normal employees would hear about it, I think, but you also wouldn't describe it as a feature.

There are far more cool things coming than bogus things.

*(Also, that DRM/Macrovision issue was pretty well blown out of proportion, because the alternatives were worse, and folks should complain to the studios/networks who won't release their content unless DRM capability is in place. Note that the DRM that Matt Zinn talked about in Wired has not actually been used so far, and I suspect it may never be. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe in fair use and we absolutely want to make television better for viewers, but I also want TiVo to thrive and grow to be able to continue its mission. Also, if you're really motivated to keep your TiVo the way it is, just do it. It's not hard to google TiVo hacking FAQs, or even to pay someone to do it for you.)

Posted by: Ted Tipster at Nov 16, 2004 7:52:56 PM

I think this might be it:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-tivo17nov17,0,927837.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Just posted to LA Times site.

Posted by: Evan at Nov 16, 2004 7:54:14 PM

Was that the bad stuff? Seems cool to me.

Posted by: Knouse at Nov 16, 2004 8:01:29 PM

If this is the article, big deal!! We all knew it was coming.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-tivo17nov17,0,927837.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Posted by: peteypete at Nov 16, 2004 8:07:19 PM

I don't think this is such bad news either.

Question remains though, will I still be able to Select-Play-Select-30-Select my way to a 30 second skip and avoid this alltogether?

Posted by: Joost Schuur at Nov 16, 2004 8:10:16 PM

EXACTLY!

Posted by: Knouse at Nov 16, 2004 8:13:17 PM

TedTipster:
Thanks for taking the time to post such an even tempered and generally reassuring comment. Youre lucky to be working at TiVo - keep up the great work.

Posted by: New York at Nov 16, 2004 8:26:24 PM

Hey, is it just me, or is this slope getting sliiipppereeeee... WHOOOOHAAAAAA!!!!

Posted by: sixtoe at Nov 16, 2004 8:34:02 PM

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-tivo17nov17,0,927837.story

That's it? Sounds good to me. Pop-ups over an ad are no big deal. If you use 30 second skip you're not going to see them, and it isn't going to stop you from using FFW to get through ads. So the overall experience doesn't really change.

The 'couch commerce' thing is exciting - I've been suggesting that to TiVo as an RFE for years.

Posted by: MegaZone at Nov 16, 2004 8:47:38 PM

Does anyone know how the beloved Google managed to generate $1 billion in revenue during 2003...by revolutionizing the ad model of the Internet - even with a backdrop of widespread distribution of pop-up blockers (albeit by "borrowing" Overture / Goto.com's business model innovation).
There are definitely major differences in the underlying nature of the experiences favoring Google, but it would appear as though TiVo is attempting something similar in TV.
And given TiVo's unparalleled understanding of user interface design, theyre best positioned to attempt such an endeavor.

Posted by: New York at Nov 16, 2004 9:48:58 PM

Thanks for posting, Ted Tipster. I don't doubt that as far as annoying banner ads go, I'm sure TiVo's looks nicer than others, but I'm still kind of shocked they are being added at the exact point at which customers don't want to see ads.

And TiVo's always been such a customer-focused company that I'm surprised this idea is getting green-lighted.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Nov 17, 2004 12:32:19 AM

Ok, so my guesses were all off base. Big surprise...

One question for anyone still reading this. Who are Tivo's primary customers? Some financial articles that I read indicated that Tivo's primary profit generator is still subscriptions, with ads still being comparatively inconsequential. However, are we seeing (or at least I am perceiving) Tivo shift its focus from consumer-oriented features to content-provider/advertiser-oriented features. Have we reached the tipping point where Tivo's primary customers are not the viewers, but the advertisers and content-providers - like broadcast and cable television?

Thoughts?

Posted by: Chris at Nov 17, 2004 4:37:26 AM

Chris, TiVo's CEO hinted that while subscriptions and hardware are how they make money now, they'd like to shift that to only a 1/3 of their revenue, with 1/3 coming from advertising, and the last third from more innovative business models.

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2004/11/tivo_ready_to_f.html

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Nov 17, 2004 6:53:54 AM

If Tivo is aiming to be funded as much by ads as its users, then it's a lost cause. Who will hold the company more accountable, a relatively small number of advertisers or a more dispersed and unorganized group of users? One large advertiser threatening to pull out of working with Tivo because of pesky things like fast forward will have more clout and impact on the bottom line than a user or group of users complaining about banner ads. The other 1/3 of revenue from "innovative business models", I read as simple gimmicks that will probably fail to catch on.

I don't know if I'm alone in this crowd, but I would gladly pay double or triple the monthly subscription if Tivo declared that they were a user-centric company and their focus was on improving the users' experience with the box. This includes integration with portable video devices, making it easy for me to make and burn DVDs (sans commercials) on software such as iMovie and iDVD and working to expand the meager Home Media Option. (How long has AAC support been almost there?)

Posted by: Chris at Nov 17, 2004 7:50:38 AM

Does anyone have a good alternative to TiVo? Is ReplayTV decent enough to substitute?

Posted by: ethics at Nov 17, 2004 9:04:57 AM

Kudos to TiVo for coming up with a plan to increase revenue without adversely impacting the user experience. If the additional advertising features can be skipped over as the ads are now, my TiVo experience will not be lessened. And, it might, on occasion, draw me into a product that I may be interested in.

I've had my TiVo for four years now and support this move if it will keep the company and service around. It's pretty obvious that the company is fighting for its life amid a sea of cheap imitators being distributed through the cable companies. TiVo needs to be more than just a beloved product for its users in order to survive - it needs to continue to innovate, evolve, and gain additional business partners or it will become the more expensive alternative that the general public shuns in favor of lower cost options.

Posted by: John Brooks at Nov 17, 2004 10:25:39 AM

The point of skipping through commercials, for most people, is not that they do not want to see commercials; it's that they dont' want to waste the time to watch them. I would love to be able to see a trailer for a new movie by pressing "Thumbs Up" if I wanted, especially if it is something they know I will be interested in based on my viewing habits. I still save time by skipping commercials, TiVo earns money and maybe lowers my sub cost. As long as it doesn't interfere with the actual program, I'm all for it.

Posted by: mike at Nov 17, 2004 11:24:13 AM

ReplayTV is an excellent unit. I have one of the first ones, then bought my Tivo so I could get my updates constant and over broadband... I would have bought a newer Replay if I could have found one in a retail location while I was cross-border on a business trip, but couldn't.. Poo.

It's MUCH easier to watch ReplayTV recorded shows on your PC too... TivoToGo needs to hurry it's ass up.

Posted by: Taylor at Nov 18, 2004 6:37:38 AM

This prevalent "Tivo is a business" response to their latest move scares me. Today, anything done in the name of business profitability is fine, including screwing the customer who purchased your product and service for its particular features. In my case, I wanted to eliminate ads, not view them from a different angle.

This is bait and switch. But then, with the incessant corporatization of the US, bait and switch is just another way of conducting a profitable business. Ethics and service are irrelevant and the bottom line is all that matters. Why can't Tivo find a way to make money by improving services offered to consumers instead of by selling our viewing time to corporations?

What's next? You buy a big screen tv that instead of showing you programs televises your life to corporations that want to figure out how to make a bigger profit off you?

Posted by: Candi at Dec 3, 2004 8:00:18 AM

Also, another issue which I didn't mention in my post is regarding theoretical groundings of information science(s)/studies. Here as well, there are theories regarding separate research focuses (information retrieval, information seeking, information behaviors, etc...). However, these sound like theoretical frameworks for various sub-disciplines of information studies rather than Information Science (singular). What is that 'thing' that ties all the information sciences (plural) together, besides for the fact that they all claim to be dealing with the 'thing' called 'information' - which is not necessarily defined the same across the various concentrations and research areas within information science/studies.

Posted by: weathervanes at Aug 3, 2005 5:28:13 PM

Big News Soon

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