TiVo olive branch?

Anything is possible. That being said... those who hope for a renewed relationship with TiVo should expect to be disappointed.

justlgi said:

"TiVo's tale of two satcasters"

from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ia50cdcb373435f1bee17629d253c7afd

"With the ownership by Liberty now of DirecTV, it's a somewhat different environment -- I hope a more friendly environment than the one we faced when News Corp. was the majority owner of DirecTV," Rogers told Wall Street analysts at the annual Collins Stewart Growth Conference.

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We've heard this from TiVo in the past .. Let me just say .. Don't look for TiVo to be offered on DIRECTV again ..

Especially after last year buying Replay TV. There is a whole bunch of technology there they haven't incorporated first.

Most companies cut cost by outsourcing things that are not part of their core business to people who can do it more efficiently. If you are in the business of making cars you don't make the radios, tires, or even most of the parts. So you pay someone else to do it.

I would contend that D* is in the business of broadcasting signals via satellite not making DVRs or DVR software. Others may see this differently. Usually when a company stretches itself too thin you see quality issues and the like and they will eventually realize this when their stock takes a hit and they will move towards the core business and spin off the others.

DIRECTV doesn't make the DVRs, they outsource the manufacturing to Pace, Thomson, and Samsung, just as they did in the DIRECTiVo days.

Well I believe that "burning bridges" is not a smart decision in anyone's playbook.

Stuart Sweet said:

DIRECTV doesn't make the DVRs, they outsource the manufacturing to Pace, Thomson, and Samsung, just as they did in the DIRECTiVo days.

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The design is D*'s and so is the software development. That is what he was talking about and his point about sticking to your core competency is dead on.

You never know...DirecTV may end up buying Tivo. Malone has never been shy about spending a buck.

Ken S said:

You never know...DirecTV may end up buying Tivo. Malone has never been shy about spending a buck.

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Now that would be a dream come true. Too bad it is most likely only a dream.

Funny stuff. Rogers says that every quarter. Tivo was actually brought up in the last DirecTV investor meeting and it was basically shot down because their entire future strategy is to get to one receiver for everyone based on the HR series. Tivo is gone, will be gone and isn't coming back. But what else is Rogers going to say? He has to try to keep hope alive for the stock holders. He isn't going to say that DirecTV won't play with them anymore and they are sad.

bonscott87 said:

Funny stuff. Rogers says that every quarter. Tivo was actually brought up in the last DirecTV investor meeting and it was basically shot down because their entire future strategy is to get to one receiver for everyone based on the HR series. Tivo is gone, will be gone and isn't coming back. But what else is Rogers going to say? He has to try to keep hope alive for the stock holders. He isn't going to say that DirecTV won't play with them anymore and they are sad.

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Agreed.

I would be absolutely SHOCKED to see a new Tivo receiver for DirecTv at this point.

Lee L said:

Now that would be a dream come true. Too bad it is most likely only a dream.

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Why is that a dream ? Maybe very shrewd to just buy the IP and sit on it.

bhelton71 said:

Why is that a dream ? Maybe very shrewd to just buy the IP and sit on it.

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DirecTV already bought the IP from ReplayTV. That, in essence, innoculates them against a challenge on that front.

Hyperbole aside, there doesn't seem to be much upside to DirecTV being heavily involved in TiVo. There are vocal critics against the HR2x series but it doesn't seem to have impacted subscriber retention/addition or HD DVR adoption. Unless there was some new and very significant development, this would provide no shareholder return whatsoever.

bonscott87 said:

Funny stuff. Rogers says that every quarter. ...

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If so, then that nails it right there, no need to discuss further. If an olive branch has been dangling there all along, and not being taken, it of course is no longer an olive branch, a dried out twig at the most. Case closed

Ken S said:

You never know...DirecTV may end up buying Tivo. Malone has never been shy about spending a buck.

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Maybe he should buy them and close them down.. End all the discussion and mess up the competition in one swipe :lol:

bonscott87 said:

their entire future strategy is to get to one receiver for everyone based on the HR series.

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No one ever said that the one receiver had to have the proven buggy D* software on it

Seems to me that the "Cutting Edgers" are the ones most vehemently opposed to any TiVo love. I think there may be a propensity to look past all of the issues simply because you think D* is letting you in on some of the action. Truth is if they were doing enough in-house we wouldn't be talking about freezes/lockups/reboots/blanks and the like and you'd be only testing the cool new stuff. But that isn't the case.

I personally think they should have both, let the market decide even if one has a markup.

justlgi said:

No one ever said that the one receiver had to have the proven buggy D* software on it

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No, much better to have buggy Tivo software on them.

How is that Tivo migration to Comcast going, BTW?

I will state it once again. I have more problems with my HD Tivo than I do with my three HR2x boxes.

justlgi said:

No one ever said that the one receiver had to have the proven buggy D* software on it

Seems to me that the "Cutting Edgers" are the ones most vehemently opposed to any TiVo love. I think there may be a propensity to look past all of the issues simply because you think D* is letting you in on some of the action. Truth is if they were doing enough in-house we wouldn't be talking about freezes/lockups/reboots/blanks and the like and you'd be only testing the cool new stuff. But that isn't the case.

I personally think they should have both, let the market decide even if one has a markup.

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Some of the most prominent Cutting Edgers used to have TiVos in their homes. I could list you ten or fifteen off the top of my head. (I had two myself.) They know what TiVo is and they have moved on.