August 17, 2005
Tivo Testing Content Downloads
Tivo and many others have been hankering for the supposed large slice of the Internet Video to TV pie in the sky. MSNTV has been working on delivering CinemaNow movies to the MSN TV 2 box. Akimbo has been signing up some cool content providers but has yet to catch on (maybe because people already get this content over their cable or satellite feeds). And now Tivo wants in on the game. There a couple of keys as to why Tivo may be a the 800 lbs. gorilla in the Internet Video to TV market:
1. Installed subscriber base: (3 to 4+ million?)
2. User Interface: The best
3. PVR functionality: The cornerstone which keeps churn low and customers happy
But the downside is that users need additional hardware to get broadband. Yes, I know it's not that big of a deal for most techies that don't mind dropping another $20-$70 on a USB to wired/wireless ethernet adapter, but to tech laymen of the world, this may just be too much to ask.
