Can TiVo Survive? TiVo is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by TiVo Inc. It was first introduced to the market in 1999. TiVo was created for TiVo’s prescribers for their desire to interact with their T. V’s and likewise with TiVo. From the first time people were introduced to TVs back in 1939 people wanted to be entertained at their convenience. Then when the remote was invented in 1950, gave people more control and easy access to change the channel and sound from the comfort of their coach/chair.
So the idea of TiVo was born, a system of advanced technology, giving their subscribers everything that they wanted from a TV, remote and more. But even with all its glory and strong marketing strategies its marketing strategies still may not be sufficient enough to bring profitability for TiVo; that is unless TiVo is able to offer better financial deals for their subscribers. If not TiVo may lose the battle in such a competitive industry. TiVo was created for people/subscribers to get what they really want: “with TiVo, T. V fits into your busy life, NOT the other way around” (Hoffman, Halim, Son, and Wong. Case 24).
TiVo was created with manufactured help from Philips, Sony, Hughes, Pioneer, Toshiba and Humax, in delivering what the TiVo subscriber wants “to take charge of their own entertainment whenever they want to and whenever they need to” (Hoffman, Halim, Son, and Wong. Case 24). Pioneered by Mike Ramsay and Jim Barton TiVo’s “original idea was to create a home network-based multimedia server where content to thin clients be streamed out throughout the home… swaying from their original idea to create a home network device, they later developed the idea to record digitized video on a hardware storage drive ” (Hoffman, Halim, Son, and Wong.
Case 24). Some of TiVo’s functions were and are still advanced for many DVR systems. TiVo provides its subscribers with an on screen guide of scheduled shows for the day and week. Features that are original to TiVo is its “season pass” option, where a person can schedule a recording of every season/episode of their show; and another option like the ‘wish list” is a search engine, where a user can search shows/movies to watch/record based on searching titles, actors, directors, categories or just key words.
TiVo’s DVR, once connected to the home network system also allows users to download and save shows from their TVs for a long period of time, download music, photos, videos and more. With TiVo remote, users can rate programs that they liked or didn’t like; this is then sent to TiVo as vital information of their subscribers and from there TiVo can recommended to other TiVo users with similar interests good movies, shows and/or episodes based on their interests.
Likewise if subscribers want to inform themselves with some show or commercial that is in their interest TiVo’s smart pick pop-up advertisement is always at the bottom of the screen. If there is something that the watcher sees that is of interest they can click the advertisement and watch the commercial. With TiVo’s DVR and with the help of TiVo’s remote users can also fast forward, pause, slow down, save, and rewind live TV, known as “trick play”. With TiVo users are able to record two shows/movies at the same time, while watching another show/movie and/or etc. n addition TiVo is connected to many broadband features, such as Fandango: TiVo subscribers can see movie listings and order tickets through the conform of their TiVo remote. TiVo users can even go on TiVo’s website and schedule recording or downloads from there to their home network system 24/7. That’s not all; recently TiVo has upgraded their system so that subscribers can take their downloaded movies, music, photos, videos and shows to go- on their mobile phones or laptops- “TiVoToGo”.
Most importantly parents can block certain shows with the help of their TiVo remote: parental control, to safe guard children from harmful shows that are not in their age or genre group. In a nut shell TiVo DVR’s allows subscribers easy search, online scheduling, movie and TV downloads, home movie sharing, online services, built-in Ethernet, TiVoToGo transfers, home media features and transfer shows between boxes. TiVo is currently available in America, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Taiwan. This is due to their good marketing skills from 1999-2000.
During that time TiVo used marketed its DVR’s through word of mouth strategy, focused on expanding their celebrity endorsements and television show product placement. TiVo Inc. began giving out their DVR’s to celebrities like Oprah, Sara Michelle Gellar, Drew Bledsoe, Jay Leno and Rosie O’Donnell, which helped push TiVo to customers across the globe. TiVo has a market research team that measures promotions and viewer behaviors, TiVo also has built a system within their DVR’s that sends information back to the company of what subscriber’s watching behavior is while watching TV.
TiVo Inc. has also embraced and accepted the hackers, with their radar on where hackers are hacking the research marketing team better understand where more work is needed to be improved and what consumers are looking for. With this is mind, we can believe that TiVo has a good idea on how to market their product. Unfortunately it does not only take good marketing to keep your company afloat in a completive market. TiVo’s IPO has always been unstable- since 1999 to 2005 it has gone up and down five (give or take) times, ranging from $78. 75 to $2. 25. ”since it was founded in 1997, TiVo has accumulated more than $400 million is losses…TiVo, an enigmatic company… that lives under the great shadow of wall street pessimism, the question then becomes what value can TiVo add besides hyping their latest technology developments” (Hoffman, Halim, Son, and Wong. Case 24). In such a market, once partnered companies like cable and satellite operators now offer DVR’s of their own, with similar features as TiVo (Cable, Comcast, DirecTV and NDS Group). These companies either rent out their DVR’s or give them out to subscribers for free.
TiVo has not reached its price point that attracts more subscribers or keeps current subscribers interested. TiVo still charges subscribers to pay an upfront cost of $299 with a $100 rebate; that is just for the basic DVR. There are three types of TiVo DVR’s depending on the hours of programming storage capacity and a one time fee, not including the monthly charges: 80 hour TiVo series ($99. 99), 180 hour series ($199. 99) and 300 hour TiVo series HD ($799. 99). Is it really worth it? Many old subscribers have moved to new DVR’s from other companies because the charges are too much for an upgraded DVR system.
TiVo is losing their customers and fast. With such prices and competitors giving away their newly improved DVR’s how long will TiVo subscribers stay with TiVo and what is needed to attract people back to TiVo? The real question is, for what price can TiVo keep and bring in subscribers? Rapid changes need to occur in TiVo Inc. For one, they need to lower their prices. It is understood that to create such DVR’s costs funds, but how can other companies do it and TiVo cant. TiVo is great at marketing their product from my understanding, but change needs to happen with finances.
TiVo DVR’s are just too expensive in comparison to other companies. “Without financial back up, it is hard to see TiVo’s existence last long in such a highly completive industry unless TiVo does something about it” (Colorado State University Blackboard: M1-CT Assignment. 2013). TiVo was a pioneer of DVR’s. TiVo Inc. was the creator of such a technical market in the 1990’s. Even though all their advances in technology helped them remain as one of the leaders in the tech. industry, with increasing competition and new pricing structures have created a financial downslide for TiVo and have bumped it from the glory horse.
TiVo is unable to change their costs of their new DVR’s to that of which is demanded by consumers in the new market. Like mentioned before, Cable and Comcast offer customers DVR’s for free. Unable to match such an offer, TiVo’s experiences ongoing financial losses. Like everything in life goes through a cycle: creation, birth, growth, progression, change and death; it is not only encoded in the DNA of living organisms, but also with everything in this world: technology, ideas, business and so forth.
Even though TiVo was one of the first DVR’s that offered so much to its prescribers, their efforts in not progressing with financial demands of the market are visible. Even as they market themselves with celebrity endorsers and join forces with other companies there is always a need for an end. These financial losses will continue for TiVo, their time has come to an end. References: * Colorado State University-Global. (n. d). Strategy Implementation. Assignments: Module: 1 critical thinking. Colorado State University Blackboard.
Retrieved from: https://csuglobal. blackboard. com/webapps/portal/frameset. jsp? tab_tab_group_id=null&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_103224_1%26url%3D * Hoffman, Alan. N. , Halim, Rendy. Son, Rangki. , Wong, Suzanne. Bentley University. Case 24, TiVo, Inc. : TiVo vs. Cable and Satellite DVRs; Can TiVo Survive? Retrieved from: https://csuglobal. blackboard. com/bbcswebdav/pid-877694-dt-content-rid-4608305_5/library/Article%20Reserve/MGT451/Case%20Study%2024_TiVo%2C%20Inc. %20Tivo%20
