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Whither TiVo?

  • Variety, Wednesday, December 28, 2005 1:19 PM
A question from Variety: Can the company that invented the digital video recorder overcome its problems--shrinking market share and generic competitors--fast enough to "keep from becoming the next Betamax"? Like that long-dead brand, TiVo is said to be superior to its rivals, but it has not capitalized on that angle with consumers. Some media analysts doubt that the company can rebound, despite the efforts of CEO Tom Rogers, who has inked several major deals that aim to create a new connection between TiVo and advertising. "If all goes well, TiVo will deploy technology that gives DVR users new ads to watch at the same time they are fast-forwarding through old ones," writes Variety. Will the strategy work? Sanders Morris Harris analyst David Garner characterizes the new deals as "attempts to garner attention, while masking a business model that is fundamentally flawed."

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