Cox Communications Lets Customers With TiVo Access On-Demand Video Library
Cox Communications Inc., the third- largest U.S. cable operator, will let subscribers access on- demand movies through TiVo Inc.’s digital video recorders, combining cable and Web services like Netflix in one place.
Tivo’s Premiere DVR, available in all Cox service areas, is the first retail product to integrate a cable company’s video- on-demand services, the companies said in a statement. The deal may boost retail sales of TiVo’s DVRs and help closely held Cox preserve its cable-TV revenue stream, which is threatened by the proliferation of free videos on the Internet.
Cox, which has more than 6 million residential and business subscribers in areas from New Orleans to San Diego and Las Vegas, will install the TiVo box free of charge. The company also agreed to promote the device, which sells for about $299, through its website and to video and high-speed Internet customers.
The deal, which combines a Web interface with on-demand video, may attract new customers to the Atlanta-based cable provider’s service. The TiVo box allows users access to videos and movies from websites such as those operated by Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
Users of YouTube, the video-sharing site owned by Google Inc., watched clips 5.8 billion times in June, up 9.8 percent from a month earlier, according to Nielsen Co.
TiVo Sales
Online access to movies gives Cox subscribers more choices, and possibly a better user interface, which may help it compete better with phone companies’ offerings, Douglas Anmuth, an analyst at Barclays Capital Inc., said in a report today.
The Cox deal may open up opportunities for future cable deals for Netflix, whose streaming service will be available on more than 100 million devices by the end of the year, he said.
“Consumers are attracted to a growing range of devices that enable them to access broadband content and interactive capabilities,” Cox Communications President Pat Esser said in the statement.
The agreement may also help TiVo lure customers to buy its retail boxes. TiVo has said its boxes usually can’t receive video-on-demand services because of restrictions imposed by cable operators, which hinders sales. Cable providers often lease set-top boxes to subscribers that can access unique features.
Other obstacles to retail-box sales include high installation costs and inability to get some of cable’s digital channels. The number of TiVo subscribers fell 51,000 in the first quarter to 1.4 million, as the company reported its sixth- consecutive loss.
TiVo has attempted to reverse subscriber losses by leasing its software directly to pay-TV providers such as Comcast Corp. and DirecTV. TiVo is also working with RCN Corp., a cable provider in areas such as New York and Washington, to offer its boxes as the provider’s primary DVR choice.
TiVo, based in Alviso, California, rose 16 cents to $8.49 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have dropped 17 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Riddell in Washington at kriddell1@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page