TiVO and Phillips deliver first personal television system
Groundbreaking Service Goes Live with Support from Entertainment Industry Leaders
Showtime, HBO, and DIRECTV
SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 31, 1999 -- Philips Electronics, one of the world's leading
consumer electronics companies, and TiVo, Inc., the originator of personal television,
announced today the availability of the first personal TV system. The Philips Personal
TV™ Receiver and the TiVo Personal Television Service represent a revolution in
television, giving consumers complete control over their viewing experience and
allowing them to watch what they want, when they want. A strategic roll-out of Philips
receivers and access to the TiVo service will begin March 31, 1999.
Philips' and TiVo's personal TV system ensures that viewers will never miss a minute
of their favorite television shows. Philips' and TiVo's system enables viewers to
easily capture a personalized line-up of television programs that can be accessed
instantly at their convenience. The Philips receiver accepts television programming
from any source, including satellite, cable and antenna.
"The arrival of Philips' and TiVo's personal TV system marks an important milestone
in the evolution of consumer electronics, and demonstrates Philips' commitment to
expand the potential of television," said Rob van Oostenbrugge, CEO of Philips Digital
Video Systems. "By partnering with TiVo, our personal TV system will be a major
breakthrough in enabling consumers for the first time to truly control the vast
array of television content that is available today, furthering our efforts to dramatically
improve our customers' television viewing experiences."
"Today marks the beginning of a dramatic revolution in the world of television,"
said Michael Ramsay, president and CEO of TiVo. "Together with Philips, we are delivering
on the promise of personal TV, providing consumers with an entertainment innovation
that will forever change the way they watch television."
The Changing Face of Television
Philips' and TiVo's Personal Television System gives consumers total control over
live television by allowing them to pause and rewind, as well as use TiVo's patented
technology to create slow-motion, frame forward and frame back effects for any show
they are watching. The TiVo service also enables viewers to automatically teach
TiVo what they enjoy watching through the use of a simple "thumbs up" or "thumbs
down" feature on the Philips remote control, thus building up a personal preference
profile. This system simplifies the selection process by searching through more
than 100,000 programs that are broadcast each week, uniquely recording favorite
shows every time they are broadcast, and making recommendations on other shows of
interest.
TiVo's service works with all television programming providers. It also allows subscribers
to access special programming packages from leading entertainment industry partners,
including Showtime, E! Entertainment Television, FLIX, HBO, style., The Weather
Channel, The Movie Channel, and ZDTV. Subscribers will receive TiVo's TiVolution
Video Magazine providing daily program recommendations, and entertainment and sports
editorial content produced by former broadcast executives from CNN, NBC, HBO, Fox,
CBS and Turner. TiVo subscribers will also receive new service updates and features
automatically. TiVo's service is delivered 24 hours a day, seven days a week by
TiVo's Broadcast Center to the Philips Personal TV™ receivers.
"We all believe that it is inevitable that consumers will get control over their
television programming," said Stewart Alsop, principal of New Enterprise Associates
and a member of TiVo's Board of Directors. "The TiVo and Philips teams have the
experience and expertise to lead this exciting category, but they also understand
the business of television, which may prove to be even more important."
Consumers Are Ready to Adopt
Philips receivers and the TiVo service have been in field trials since December,
and consumer feedback on this new television experience has been overwhelmingly
positive.
"What I love about Philips' and TiVo's system is that it automatically picks up
the shows I want, and I don't have to worry that I'm missing anything I want to
watch," said Ed Wodzienski, a computer consultant and technology enthusiast, who
has been using the system in his home. "I don't have to fuss with the receiver at
all, and whenever I want to watch something, I have access to it instantly."
"Like a lot of parents, I'm putting my kids to bed when most of my favorite 'prime
time' shows are on," said Melinda Christopherson, a homemaker and mother of four.
"With Philips' and TiVo's system I can watch my shows whenever I want, and never
miss a minute, even if the phone rings or one of my kids starts crying. Also, my
husband is a sports fanatic, and he loves being able to pause and rewind live broadcasts
of sporting events. It really came in handy for him during the NCAA basketball tournament."
Pricing and Availability
The Philips Personal TV™ receivers are available in two configurations: a 14-hour
model priced at $499, and a 30-hour model at $999. TiVo Personal Television Service
subscribers have three options: $9.95 per month, $99 per year or $199 for a lifetime
subscription. Personal TV receivers will be available in limited quantities initially
and widely available this summer at CE retailers. Consumers can learn more about
Philips' and TiVo's personal TV system and service by calling 1-877-FOR-TIVO or
on the Web at www.tivo.com or www.philipsusa.com.
About Philips
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics
companies and Europe's largest, with sales of over US$ 33.9 billion in 1998. It
is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture
tubes for televisions and monitors, and one-chip TV products. Its 233,700 employees
in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics,
domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, medical systems, business electronics,
and IT services (Origin). Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam
and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.news.philips.com.
News about Philips can also be found on the U.S. web site www.philipsusa.com.
About TiVo
TiVo, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the originator of personal television.
The TiVo service allows consumers to take control of their television viewing by
providing the ability to pause, rewind, instant replay and playback in slow-motion
any live television broadcast. As part of TiVo's easy-to-use service and patented
consumer electronics technology, viewers can time-shift their favorite television
shows and create a customized television lineup for anytime viewing. The company
was founded in August 1997 by former Silicon Graphics senior vice president Michael
Ramsay and vice president James Barton, both of whom have been instrumental in earlier
generation efforts of interactive video-on-demand systems and Hollywood special-effects
technology. TiVo's board of directors includes Stewart Alsop of New Enterprise Associates,
Geoff Yang of Institutional Venture Partners and WebTV founding director Randy Komisar.
TiVo can be reached on the World Wide Web at www.tivo.com.