TiVo in Canada. Too Late? Who Cares?
by MaxPower
The vaunted TiVo, the service which turned into a verb - "I'll just TiVo it" - has finally come to Canada.
TiVo's move into Canada represents a natural, important progression for our business as we continue to make sustained progress across international markets," said Joshua Danovitz, vice-president and general manager of international at TiVo
But is it 5 years too late? TiVo was originally founded in 1997, but never really caught on until 2002/03. TiVo as a company was profitable in Q2/05. But we poor peons in Canada had been without the TiVo, forced to watch US comedies that referred to it. So TiVo finally comes to Canada in early December @ $199.
But does anyone really care? With the options of Time Shifting with digital cable and PVRs from Rogers, Shaw and Bell will Canadians flock to TiVo?
I, for one, doubt it. While it is cheaper than PVRs ($199 vs ~$300) the cable giants will likely lower their prices and/or offer some bundles to compete with the new entrant. A quick scan over some technical reviews show that TiVo while having some positive features (records shows you "may" like to watch with 'TiVo Suggestions') the subscription cost ($12.95/month) and already established PVRs with the major cable retailers means that TiVo is going to have an uphill battle for market share in Canada.
I don't use PVRs at all. I enjoy my digital cable "free" time shifting option which allows me to watch a program in 4 time zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific). Generally speaking if I can't make time to watch a TV show in a 4 hour window the chances that I would ever watch it after I PVR'd it (see that verb thing again) is slim to none. Plus I don't need to pay extra for the option. I do have to put up with commericals though, but I generally flip around during commercials.
And if TiVo's stock chart says anything - flat at $6 for 5 years - it says "TiVo won't become a verb in Canada".