Posted on 06/08/2005 11:19:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- TiVo's newest gadget could become the next big thing in portable entertainment -- or so the company's shareholders are hoping -- but some industry analysts remain skeptical about how successful the endeavor will be.
TiVo said it will join forces with Microsoft and Intel to permit its TiVoToGo -- a portable television service -- to run on Microsoft computer software and use Intel microchips. That means users with Microsoft's Media Centers and several other portable entertainment systems will be able to download television programs onto their computers to watch on the go.
"TiVo is enabling our subscribers to watch their favorite TV shows whenever and wherever they want," said Matt Wisk, TiVo's chief marketing officer, in a news release.
The service will be available to all TiVo subscribers at no extra charge. Currently, TiVo's basic subscription costs $12.95 per month, plus the mandatory purchase of a $199 box to access the service.
The company's decision to become compatible with Microsoft and Intel products seems to have lifted the spirits of TiVo investors, as share prices rose steadily after the San Jose, Calif., company's Wednesday morning announcement. In late-afternoon trading Wednesday the price of TiVo shares on the Nasdaq hit $7.28, up 4.3 percent from Tuesday's close.
The fact that TiVo is allying itself with the technology titans has been enough to persuade many industry analysts to pay attention to the latest deal, but some worry there might not be enough content in the package to keep the momentum going.
"This is not going to be the next new iPod ... even though (TiVo) would want it to be," said Adi Kishore, a media and entertainment strategies analyst at the Yankee Group, a technology research firm in Boston.
One problem that could prevent TiVoToGo from becoming a blockbuster is the time-consuming nature of television viewing vs. listening to music, he said.
"Some people listen to music all the time, whatever they're doing ... but you can't do things if you're watching TV," Kishore told United Press International. "It needs more immersion."
As a result, the prospect of carrying along a handheld TV set -- however selective the programming is -- might not be as alluring to a large number of consumers who want to multitask.
Children could offer an opportunity, however, said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD Techworld in New York City, a research group tracking technology trends.
"There's definitely a market ... for baby-sitting," Rubin told UPI. He said parents would want to use the portable TVs to keep their offspring under control in restaurants, vehicles, airplanes and other locations, "regardless of what you might think" about whether the practice was good for children in the long run.
Kishore said TiVo has been pushed into an increasingly difficult situation and has lost its market edge in recent years.
Founded in 1997, TiVo was the first to develop the digital video recorder, allowing TV viewers to cut out commercials and pause live-streaming programs, essentially giving them the ability to watch only what they wanted to watch. The problem, Kishore said, has been that other companies are now offering similar services, and "cable and satellite operators are now getting the lion's share" of digital video recording.
Carrying crappy TV shows around with you doesn't alter the crappiness of the shows.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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