TiVo to have second run at UK market with Virgin Media deal

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 25-Nov-09, 10:50

LONDON - TiVo, the digital video recorder company, is having a second run at the UK market after signing a deal with Virgin Media to release co-branded set top boxes.

In the US, TiVo has been adopted in some quarters as a synonym for recording television, as in: "I'm going to TiVo 'American Idol' and watch it when I'm home".

But its first UK launch was vastly less successful. TiVo quit the market in 2003 not quite two years after it first appeared. It was estimated at the time that only 5,000 TiVo boxes were sold in spite of the company spending £8m on the launch.

By contrast, Sky's digital recording brand Sky+ has been adopted into common parlance in the UK as a term for recording television.

Part of the problem first time around was blamed on TiVo having a go-it-alone approach rather than teaming up with a pay-TV provider, so its deal with Virgin Media could be the key to success this time.

The boxes it is making for Virgin Media will deliver not only high-definition TV but also provide a converged television and broadband interface. The first co-branded boxes are due out in 2010.

Tom Rogers, president and chief executive of TiVo Inc, said: "Virgin Media is a true leader in the world of entertainment and their enthusiasm for building the next generation of pay television is an excellent opportunity to put all of TiVo's innovation to work in a product distributed by a world class partner.

"We believe this international deal affords us a significant subscriber growth opportunity."