TiVo Inc. (TIVO) is a global leader in the advanced television entertainment market and has risen to the top of our filters again.
TiVo, which supplanted the VCR in homes, now offers the TiVo service and TiVo DVRs directly to consumers online and through third-party retailers. TiVo also distributes its technology and services through cable, satellite and broadcasting companies. It’s a business that not only made people’s lives easier, but upended industries in the process.
TiVo has been taking steps to innovate in a crowded market, announcing the launch of Shop By Remote, HSN’s interactive shopping experience. With a click of a button, TiVo users can now shop for thousands of products featured on their favorite HSN shows. It has also introduced a DVR for people who don’t want to pay for a TV subscription—the $50 TiVo Roamio OTA—and announced its new ultra HD set-top box technology (4x the resolution of traditional HD, and richer colors) which will be powered by Broadcom Corp.
A year ago it brought streaming to its iOS apps, enabling you to watch recorded shows anywhere with a Wifi signal, and has now added the same functionality for its Android app.
Additionally, the company is rolling out a multi-screen TiVo DVR to 800,000 Canadian cable TV subscribers by mid-2015. It is TiVo’s first deal with a Canadian pay-TV provider. Analysts hint this will be the first of a spate of such deals.
TIVO has reduced shares outstanding by 5.24% in the past 12 months.
David R. Fried, The Buyback Letter, www.buybackletter.com, 888-289-2225, November 6, 2014
