• by August 6, 2004

TiVo scored on Wednesday when the Federal Communications Commission said subscribers ought to be able to send TV shows over the Web to their PCs.

The victory is a big deal because it allows TiVo to build a feature that enables subscribers to transfer pre-recorded TV programs via the Web to the PCs of fellow TiVo subscribers. TiVo wants to add the Internet transfer feature to its next-generation, digital set-top boxes.

The proposed Internet distribution feature makes Hollywood studios and the National Football League nervous. The Motion Picture Association of America doesn't want TV shows transferred outside of the home. And the NFL offers the majority of its regular season games for free to viewers, but the networks pay a hefty price tag for rights to air the games. Local ad revenue may also be jeopardized by the TiVo proposal.

Copy-right protection and digital rights issues are nearing the boiling point.

The feature has all the makings of a peer-to-peer, mini network and has implications far beyond TiVo's base of 1.6 million subscribers. Cable operators, such as Time Warner that provide digital video recording features to their subscribers, could also build such a feature into future, set-top boxes. When that happens, millions and millions of consumers will be able to send content back and forth for a viral effect.

So how will TiVo prevent pre-recorded shows from going out onto the Web for all to download? The company says it's working on encryption technologies.

Redistribution of content via the Web is a hot-button issue and it's not going away any time soon.