TiVo announced today that it will develop an HD DVR for DirecTV as part of an extension of an existing agreement between the two companies.
The DVR part of the deal also included the development, marketing and distribution of the new HD DVR, as well as the extension of mutual intellectual property arrangements. For TiVo, the extended agreement gives the company an opportunity to gain new subscribers.
Under the terms of the non-exclusive arrangement, DirecTV and TiVo will work together to develop a version of the TiVo service for DirecTV’s broadband-enabled HD DVR platform . The product will support the latest TiVo and DirecTV features and services, including Tao’s Universal Swivel Search and TiVo KidZone. TiVo will develop the new HD DVR for an expected launch in the second half of next year.
DirecTV will continue to develop and offer its own portfolio of set-top boxes as primary offerings to both new and existing customers. The new HD DVR TiVo box will be offered as an alternative choice to those DirecTV customers who prefer TiVo’s functionality.
"We have had a very successful history with DirecTV,” said Tom Rogers, TiVo's CEO and president. “Together we brought the TiVo experience to millions of DirecTV customers, and now we look forward to launching a next-generation product that uses TiVo's latest features to truly showcase DirecTV’s broad selection of high-definition programming, all stitched together with the elegance of TiVo's renowned user experience. This agreement demonstrates our continued embrace of mass distribution opportunities in cooperation with major multichannel operators who recognize the value of giving their customers a choice of compelling user experiences."
DirecTV and TiVo started their relationship in 2000 with the launch of the first DirecTV DVR with TiVo service. In 2005, the relationship became strained when DirecTV decided it would no longer market TiVo's set-top boxes and would use its own system made by NDS Group.
In April 2006, the companies announced an extension of their commercial and advertising relationship, and those commercial and advertising capabilities are further extended and now include the new HD platform. DirecTV and TiVo also recently deployed a software update to existing DirecTV customers with TiVo boxes, which enabled new features.
Financial terms of the latest deal were not disclosed.
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