DirecTV CEO: Won't Gear Future Initiatives To TiVo
Tuesday November 2, 5:45 PM EST
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--TiVo Inc.'s (TIVO) position as DirecTV's (DTV) primary supplier of digital video recorders appear numbered.
DirecTV Chief Executive Chase Carey, speaking in an interview with Dow Jones on Tuesday, said the partnership will continue but noted that "as we go forward, the core of our initiatives won't be geared to TiVo."
Carey said the company would be looking for alternative providers though he declined to say what other technology provider DirecTV might consider.
TiVo's relationship with the direct-to-home satellite provider has been seen as rocky since media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS) took over control of DirecTV about a year ago. Another News Corp. company, NDS (NNDS), made clear its ambitions to break into the U.S. DVR market. Meanwhile, DirecTV's new management left the door open to additional suppliers.
TiVo has been heavily dependent on its relationship with DirecTV, though it's been trying to boost the profile of its independent, stand-alone products. In the second quarter, TiVo added 288,000 new customers, of which 225,000 were through DirecTV.
Both companies had been careful to emphasize that the relationship has not changed course, despite a number of events that rattled TiVo investors.
In May, the company sold its set-top box manufacturing business to French consumer electronics maker Thomson (TMS) for $250 million. As part of the transaction, Thomson agreed to become DirecTV's primary set-top box supplier for the next five years. Thomson said it would be involved in the development of new boxes and manufacture high-definition and digital video recorder set-top units. Thomson has said it would be licensing TiVo's DVR technology.
Then in June, DirecTV Vice Chairman Eddy Hartenstein stepped down from TiVo's board of directors after an eight-month commitment. DirecTV also sold its TiVo stake, citing its efforts to rid itself of noncore assets.
DirecTV's determination to put TiVo on the sidelines appears part of an effort to keep technology developments in-house.
Last month at an investor conference, Carey said DirecTV is interested in developing a movies-on-demand service but wouldn't consider the one currently being developed by TiVo and Netflix Inc. (NFLX).
"We don't need middlemen to do that...we can certainly manage that process," he said.
Meanwhile, interest in DVRs is proving a push for both DirecTV and TiVo. DirecTV said Tuesday it added 484,000 new subscribers during the quarter, thanks in part to demand for DVRs. The company said it's stepped up marketing of DVRs in the current fourth quarter and reduced the price of the units by $50.
http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt...2&date=20041102
Tuesday November 2, 5:45 PM EST
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--TiVo Inc.'s (TIVO) position as DirecTV's (DTV) primary supplier of digital video recorders appear numbered.
DirecTV Chief Executive Chase Carey, speaking in an interview with Dow Jones on Tuesday, said the partnership will continue but noted that "as we go forward, the core of our initiatives won't be geared to TiVo."
Carey said the company would be looking for alternative providers though he declined to say what other technology provider DirecTV might consider.
TiVo's relationship with the direct-to-home satellite provider has been seen as rocky since media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS) took over control of DirecTV about a year ago. Another News Corp. company, NDS (NNDS), made clear its ambitions to break into the U.S. DVR market. Meanwhile, DirecTV's new management left the door open to additional suppliers.
TiVo has been heavily dependent on its relationship with DirecTV, though it's been trying to boost the profile of its independent, stand-alone products. In the second quarter, TiVo added 288,000 new customers, of which 225,000 were through DirecTV.
Both companies had been careful to emphasize that the relationship has not changed course, despite a number of events that rattled TiVo investors.
In May, the company sold its set-top box manufacturing business to French consumer electronics maker Thomson (TMS) for $250 million. As part of the transaction, Thomson agreed to become DirecTV's primary set-top box supplier for the next five years. Thomson said it would be involved in the development of new boxes and manufacture high-definition and digital video recorder set-top units. Thomson has said it would be licensing TiVo's DVR technology.
Then in June, DirecTV Vice Chairman Eddy Hartenstein stepped down from TiVo's board of directors after an eight-month commitment. DirecTV also sold its TiVo stake, citing its efforts to rid itself of noncore assets.
DirecTV's determination to put TiVo on the sidelines appears part of an effort to keep technology developments in-house.
Last month at an investor conference, Carey said DirecTV is interested in developing a movies-on-demand service but wouldn't consider the one currently being developed by TiVo and Netflix Inc. (NFLX).
"We don't need middlemen to do that...we can certainly manage that process," he said.
Meanwhile, interest in DVRs is proving a push for both DirecTV and TiVo. DirecTV said Tuesday it added 484,000 new subscribers during the quarter, thanks in part to demand for DVRs. The company said it's stepped up marketing of DVRs in the current fourth quarter and reduced the price of the units by $50.
http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt...2&date=20041102
n/m Slacker, i think i answered my own question.... hmmmmm...... :dev
