The cloud-based TiVo system slated to launch on Sweden’s Com Hem cablenet later this year will serve as the template for future deployments in the United States and Europe, according to TiVo CEO Tom Rogers.
Speaking during the Q1 investor call, Rogers said the Com Hem implementation was an important development in terms of what TiVo was offering operators.
“One of the key things operators are considering is how heavy a Capex lift going to advanced television involves and one of the great virtue of an IPTV implementation is that it doesn’t involve going through a set-top box but other devices,” said Rogers.
He added that when a set-top box was used it would be a much thinner client. He anticipated being able to showcase both QAM and IPTV implementations across the world within a short space of time.
Com Hem is currently taking pre-registration and plans to launch its TiVo product in the summer.
“The multiroom multidevice elements of our offering have gained us a lot of traction in the operator community. Certainly there’s an interest on the part of operators to use non-operator supplied devices as a way to provide second set, whole home implementation, added Rogers. Operators were looking at options that came in cheaper even than the TiVo Mini and Rogers said he wanted to accommodate the operator strategy.
TiVo announced adjusted EBITDA of $0.8 million and a net loss of $10.3 million.
Virgin Media added 172,000 TiVo subscriptions in the first quarter of the year, bringing the total to 1.5 million, or 40% of its entire base. It has also helped Virgin towards its sixth straight quarter of improving churn. In Spain, ONO recently announced that its TiVo subscription base is now at 166,000, up 68% from three months ago.
