US Cable Support > Comcast Cable TV > [TiVo] Comcast Tivo Service

reply to telcodad

Re: [TiVo] Comcast Tivo Service

TiVo just issued its 4Q11 and FY2011 report:

TiVo Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended January 31, 2012
Marketwire - February 23, 2012
»www.marketwire.com/press-release···3823.htm

From the report:

"Further, our Comcast offering, which will enable access to Comcast's On Demand content on TiVo Premiere retail set-top boxes, is in market trial and will be launching in the near future in the San Francisco Bay Area with more markets to follow thereafter. With the inclusion of access to Comcast's On Demand service, TiVo subscribers will be able to enjoy more content spanning linear television, video-on-demand and over-the-top unlike any other commercially available experience. Also, Comcast will be offering professional installation, upon customer request, of TiVo Premiere boxes at no charge. Comcast will also promote the availability of Comcast's On Demand content on TiVo Premiere DVRs in each market where this is enabled. We believe this offering will positively benefit our retail efforts this coming year."

Engadget has this article on TiVo's report:

TiVo releases Q4 results, announces transcoder and IP set-top box on the way
Engadget - February 23, 2012
»www.engadget.com/2012/02/23/tivo···top-box/

From a cable news round-up item on the Light Reading Cable site this morning (»www.lightreading.com/document.as···cable&):

TiVo Developing Low-Cost IP Set-Top

"TiVo Inc. is developing an IP-based set-top that will launch "by the end of summer," company CEO and President Tom Rogers said on Thursday's earnings call. Rogers said the device will work in conjunction with a primary gateway as part of a new whole-home platform that can serve multiple TV sets hanging off the home network. TiVo already makes a non-DVR set-top for a whole-home set-up, but the new IP-only device aims to reduce costs, Rogers said, adding that it will become a "complement to the core TiVo unit." TiVo's current whole-home platform for MSOs teams the four-tuner Premiere Q gateway with a client box called the Preview.
(See: TiVo Tunes Up Multi-Room DVRs for Cable. »www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable )"

An article on the FierceCable site today about Comcast's TiVo service:

TiVo powers Comcast OTT video play, will supply gateway devices to cable ops
FierceCable - February 24, 2012
»www.fiercecable.com/story/tivo-p···12-02-24

An item on the Zatz Not Funny! site today on the upcoming On-Demand service for TiVo:

Comcast On Demand TiVo Integration Weeks Away
Zatz Not Funny! - February 24, 2012
»www.zatznotfunny.com/2012-02/com···ks-away/

I wonder if this mean the Cox port is also coming soon? since cox had an agreement before comcast

I saw that, but does this mean comcast leaped infront of cox, or is the cox port almost done also cox and tivo will not say

An article on the recent Pace-TiVo deal and its possible impact on Comcast:

Pace and Tivo employing a Trojan horse?
Broadcast Engineering - Feb 27, 2012
»broadcastengineering.com/news/pa···-pay-tv/

"Pace, the UK-based, world number one set top maker, has teamed up with timeshifting DVR vendor Tivo to develop products for hybrid services combining broadcast and web-based content.

This involves Pace licensing Tivo’s Hardware Porting Kit and collaborating on development of a Tivo-verified platform, initially targeting cable operators across the Americas.

This affects Comcast in the U.S., which is the only major cable company to already be a customer of both companies. Comcast now uses some Pace set top boxes, and offers the Comcast Tivo with DVR service including integrated search. Under a deal struck between the companies in 2011, this delivers Comcast's OnDemand service on the Tivo platform, alongside Netflix and other offerings. Following the deal between the two companies, Comcast may deploy a branded Tivo DVR manufactured by Pace."

From a cable news round-up item on the Light Reading Cable site this morning (»www.lightreading.com/document.as···cable&):

Comcast Corp.'s integration with TiVo Inc. retail boxes in the San Francisco is inching closer to a launch. ZatzNotFunny blogger Dave Zatz tweets that the MSO and the DVR pioneer have posted a sign-up page (»www3.tivo.com/products/source/ca···_comcast) for the program, which will enable TiVo DVRs to support the MSO's full digital video service, including video on demand (VoD). The page also offers a sneak peek at how the Xfinity On Demand service will be featured on the TiVo user interface.

An article on the Light Reading Cable site this morning speculating on Netflix offering an app on cable company distributed TiVos:

Netflix's Path Into MSOs Becomes Clearer
Light Reading Cable - March 2, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···r_cable&

"The end of Netflix Inc.'s deal with Starz Entertainment LLC on Thursday may get Netflix a step closer to offering its app on TiVo Inc. boxes that are distributed by cable operators.
:
Netflix, meanwhile, is showing some interest in partnering with cable as the company continues to develop original programming and look more and more like a premium programmer such as HBO. (See Netflix Plays Friendly With Cable.:»www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable )
:
But Netflix has not been part of that because its contracts with some programmers prevent it from streaming content to TiVo devices leased to customers by RCN, Suddenlink Communications and other MSOs. Starz's cable VoD service and the one it was offering through Netflix, which also included access to a stream of Starz's flagship linear channel, apparently were not permitted to run concurrently on an MSO-supplied device.

Comcast Corp.'s integration with TiVo, which will soon get underway in San Francisco, won't be affected by such restrictions, because it's limited to TiVos sold at retail. (See Comcast Trial Fuses TiVo With VoD.: »www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable )"

Some follow-up comments on the article by the author (Jeff Baumgartner):

"Maybe this is a stretch, but...
...if the death of the Starz deal removes the only contractual hindrance for Netflix to get on leased MSO boxes, makes me wonder if Netflix could find some success down the road getting on other leased set-tops with IP capabilities. Netflix has its app on almost every other device under the sun, so I'd guess they'd also have interest in getting on the device that's eluded it so far-- the cable STB.

Comcast is creating an app environment for the X1, but I'd be surprised if they'd want Netflix on there if it's true that the new Streampix service is being groomed as a true Netflix competitor. But there are plenty of other MSOs out there, particularly the smaller , independent ones, that might find the prospect of having Netflix available on their boxes since many of their customers will be using Netflix with or without their help. JB"

and

"Arris & Netflix
But I should also mention that if TiVo is successful in getting Netflix in MSO-leased boxes, it won't be the first time. Arris does allow Netflix to run on its Moxi gateways that it sells to MSOs, but it has to perform a few tricks to make it happen, as explained in this LRTV interview from last year (»www.lightreading.com/video.asp?doc_id=207175 ). JB"

An item on the Zatz Not Funny! site today on the Xfinity On-Demand service for TiVo:

Comcast Launches TiVo Xfinity On Demand In April
Zatz Not Funny! - March 7, 2012
»www.zatznotfunny.com/2012-03/com···n-april/

"I have it on good authority that Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand TiVo app will launch in early April — Intel that lines up with TiVo’s recent quarterly call indicating service will roll out within weeks… versus months. Instead of reselling the TiVo experience, as Comcast once attempted, the new initiative makes Xfinity On Demand programming available via TiVo Premiere DVRs acquired through retail channels, like Amazon or Best Buy."

An article on the Zatz Not Funny! site today on upgrades being made to the TiVo Premiere:

TiVo Premiere Sees Hard Drive Boost, Fee Reduction
Zatz Not Funny! - March 23, 2012
»www.zatznotfunny.com/2012-03/tiv···duction/

The Multichannel News site also has an article about the TiVo changes:

TiVo Targets Cable DVRs With 25% Lower Monthly Fee
Company's Four-Tuner Premiere Elite to Ship Sunday, March 25
Multichannel News - March 23, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/article/482···_Fee.php

"TiVo is lopping five bucks off its monthly plans for Premiere DVR customers -- dropping it down to $14.99 -- and is reducing pricing on high-end models, as the company tries to lure customers away from cable operators' DVR offerings.

The company on Sunday, March 25, will start shipping the four-tuner TiVo Premiere Elite, which can record up to four shows and store up to 300 hours of HD content. The 2-Terabyte Elite carries a retail list price of $349.99, which is $150 less than TiVo's previously announced $499.99 list price.

In addition, TiVo is cutting $50 off the price of the two-tuner Premiere XL, with 1 TB of storage for up to 150 hours of HD, to $249.99.

Meanwhile, the entry-level Premiere remains $149.99, but TiVo has upgraded it to 500 Gigabytes of storage for up to 75 hours of HD content. Previously the model had 320 GB of storage.

With a one-year contract, the TiVo monthly service fee will be $14.99 per month for Premiere users. That makes it lower than most cable offerings, the company said. For customers with multiple TiVos, the price per box is $12.99 per month.

The pricing changes are intended to get "TiVo-owned" subscribers (those who buy the DVRs at retail) moving in the positive direction after years in decline. For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2012, TiVo lost 157,000 direct subs.

But at the same time, TiVo risks ratcheting up competition with MSO partners that offer Premiere DVRs to their own subscribers, including Charter Communications and Suddenlink Communications. TiVo's service provider initiative has finally started paying dividends: The rollout of TiVo-based boxes by the U.K.'s Virgin Media offset losses from its legacy DirecTV deal to let TiVo post a net gain of 387,000 subscribers through operators for the year ended Jan. 31.

TiVo also has marketing agreements with Comcast and Cox Communications, which have pledged to provide video-on-demand services to cable subscribers with Premiere DVRs.

For retail customers, TiVo will continue to offer a "lifetime subscription" for $499.99, with a discounted price of $399.99 for customers with multiple DVRs.

For non-Premiere legacy TiVo boxes, monthly fees will not change. Older TiVo DVRs carry a monthly service charge of $12.95 per month (and $9.95 per month for customers with multiple boxes)."

Well this is quite amazing. Now all I need to do is figure out how to tell TiVo that I'm a Comcast customer to get that discount on the monthly service plan.

The new Elite price was a typo, it's actually going to be $400 now not $350.

no what I ment was the 19 dollar a month monthly tivo subscription fee being dropped by 5 dollars down to 15 a month.

reply to brawney
I'm confused. The 4 tuner Premier Elite started shipping last October. I purchased 3 of them. The price is lower as of March 25 but I don't see any difference in the hardware.

Where does the article say that Comcast customers will receive a discount? The way I read it is if you sign up for a new 1 year contract you will get the lower price.