Tivo Goes After Cord-Cutters With New Over-Air DVR

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TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) has enjoyed quite a bit of growth over recent years by aggressively signing partnership agreements with both satellite and cable companies. Now the leader in DVRs is going after customers who have effectively “cut the cord” by dropping their satellite and cable subscriptions in lieu of the Internet and channels that are available through over-the-air digital signals.

TiVo said the DVR is “simple, brilliant and legal.” While the price for the hardware is nominal, it does require a year commitment for a monthly fee of $14.99 which grants users access to personalization, TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO)’s channel guide and other features.

TiVo’s Roamio OTA specifications

The Roamio OTA has 500 GB of storage capacity, which can store roughly 500 hours of SD video or 75 hours of HD video and allows customers to record up to four broadcasts at the same time whether HD antennae offered shows or YouTube or Netflix videos. The Roamio OTA is also compatible with Tivo Stream in order to stream live and pre-recorded devices on phones, tablets, laptops and desktops.

While “cord-cutters” are a growing group, nearly 90% of American households do have a cable subscription.

“Many top TV shows in America are available with a simple HD antenna,” TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) Chief Marketing Officer Ira Bahr said in the statement. “We recognize some viewers opt not to receive the benefits a subscription with a cable provider offers.”

Legality and demand

Steve Wymer, a spokesman for Tivo which is based in San Jose, Calif. added, “The technology is not anything new,” Wymer said. “We never had legal challenges regarding recording content in the home for an individual consumer.”

Whether or not OTA content continues its growth is anyone’s guess but TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) promises to be there if it explodes.

“They’re gunning for the same market Aereo was going for,” Clay Brockman, an analyst at Height Analytics, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “They’re advertising: ‘Cord-cutters, come to us.’ Cable costs are going up, broadband speeds are getting better and the market is there to be had.”

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