News
TiVo posted its fourth quarter earnings yesterday with the good news being that the company posted a net loss of $6.4 million, or 6 cents a share, compared to a quarterly loss of $19.5 million, or 20 cents a share, the year before. Some analysts had forecast a loss of 11 cents per share for the fourth quarter.
TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said Cox Communications is using TiVo’s service in technical trials with a launch expected soon in Cox’s New England system. Rogers also spoke about TiVo’s service being launched late last year by Comcast.
“In terms of our mass distribution strategy, we continue to focus on increasing subscriptions through significant partnerships with leading MSOs in the U.S. and internationally,” Rogers said. “On that front, the TiVo service on Comcast is now operational in New England, Comcast’s largest market with almost two million subscribers. Comcast is marketing the services to these subscribers and we expect marketing of the product to increase as Comcast gains greater experience with the offering.
“With both Comcast a reality and Cox in trial, our mass distribution strategy is making significant in-roads, effectively unleashing the power of TiVo beyond the confines of a dedicated hardware consumer electronic business.”
Rogers also said TiVo was working with CableLabs on having its technology compatible with OCAP two-way services, and with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association to make sure its technology works with switched digital video.
TiVo’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6 percent to $74.1 million from $76.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. The Alviso, Calif.-based company’s annual revenue increased to $272.7 million, which was a 5.3 percent increase from the $258.9 million in fiscal 2007.
For the year, TiVo lost $31.4 million, or 32 cents a share, which was 34 percent less than it lost in fiscal 2007 when the company lost $47.7 million, 53 cents per share.
TiVo also announced yesterday that it had added Omnicom Media Group to the list of customers who are using its Stop||Watch ratings service. Other customers of the service include Interpublic Group, Starcom USA, Carat USA, NBC Universal and CBS.
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