TiVo and Comcast Cable to Jointly Deliver Personal Video Recorders With the TiVo Service in Single Market Deployment
San Jose, Ca and Philadelphia, PA - July 25, 2000 -TiVo, Inc., (NASDAQ: TIVO) the creator of personal television and Comcast Cable Communications, Inc., the nation's third largest cable operator, today announced a single market deployment of the TiVo Personal TV Service with cable subscribers. The companies will jointly market and distribute standalone personal video recorders to Comcast subscribers with TiVo as the exclusive personal TV service in the Cherry Hill, New Jersey market.
This marks the first broad deployment of a personal TV service by a cable operator. Comcast subscribers in Cherry Hill will have the option of leasing 30-hour standalone PVR with the TiVo Service for use with their cable programming. Customers will receive the recorder at no cost and pay a service fee as part of their monthly cable bill. Comcast will administer installation and billing, and TiVo will respond to customer needs that relate directly to the TiVo Service and its functionality.
"The TiVo Service is the perfect compliment to Comcast's cable programming and will provide Cherry Hill customers the opportunity to easily gain the control and personalization a growing number of passionate TiVo customers have already discovered," said Mike Ramsay, TiVo's President and CEO. "This deployment with Comcast provides a new source of subscribers for TiVo and another occasion to change the way consumers watch TV."
The TiVo Service is the most advanced and easy to use personal TV service available today. It digitally records television shows without video tape so you can watch what you want, when you want to watch it.
"Digital cable technology enables customers to take advantage of exciting new products today, and lays the foundation for the great products and services of tomorrow," said Dave Watson, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service for Comcast Cable. "We are continually looking for ways to deliver the best new products to our clients, and we look forward to learning a great deal from this deployment."
The agreement includes joint marketing and outreach to existing Comcast subscribers. TiVo will receive a monthly service fee for each Comcast subscriber who leases a unit.
This agreement expands upon Comcast's investment in TiVo, announced in July 1999. Comcast and Cox were the first in the cable industry to make an investment in personal television and TiVo.
The TiVo Service
The TiVo Service was designed to make it easy for consumers to find and record the programs they want, with new service capabilities and enhancements delivered to recorders automatically.
With Season Passes™, the TiVo Service can automatically find and record your favorite shows every time they air, even if the network lineup changes. A unique attribute of the Service is its ability to recommend shows that match your interests through TiVo's Suggestions; no other personal TV service can deliver this level of personalization to viewers. The TiVo Service also includes exclusive interactive programming that helps viewers find the programs they want to watch such as TiVo Takes - a weekly video magazine for TiVo users filled with tips and program previews from which you can easily schedule recordings. Plus, TiVolution™ Magazine - an on-screen entertainment guide with recommended programming each week and Network Showcases™ - a forum for TiVo's network partners to highlight upcoming programs and specialized content.
About TiVo
TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) is the creator of the personal television service. Founded in 1997 with the mission to dramatically improve consumers' television viewing experiences, TiVo developed a technology that serves as a platform for delivering a variety of home entertainment services. TiVo's Personal TV Service™ simplifies the way we watch and enjoy television by digitally recording television shows, without videotape, so you can watch what you want, when you want to watch it. TiVo was the first to deliver on the promise of consumer choice and control over TV viewing, building a loyal and passionate subscriber base.
TiVo's leadership is grounded in its ability to forge critical partnerships, working together with the giants of the media, technology, consumer electronics, and television industries. Industry support of TiVo is reflected in its partner roster that includes, AOL, Blockbuster, BSkyB, DIRECTV, Philips, SONY, THOMSON and the leading cable and network television companies. Today, the TiVo Service is available in the United States on the Philips Personal TV Recorder™ and the Sony Digital Network Recorder ™ in nearly 4500 consumer electronics retail and online outlets. TiVo is headquartered in San Jose, CA. with offices in Los Angeles, CA. Additional information can be found at www.tivo.com.
About Comcast Cable
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSK, CMCSA) (www.comcast.com), a developer, manager and operator of broadband cable networks and provider of programming content. Comcast Cable is the third largest cable company in the United States. Providing basic cable, digital cable and high speed Internet services, Comcast Cable is the company to look to first for the communications products and services that connect people to what's important in their lives. At the close of 2000, the company's more than 10,000 cable division employees will serve more than 8.2 million customers in six geographic regions.
This release may contain forward-looking statements regarding TiVo's business, customers or other factors that may affect future earnings or financial results. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those, expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include delays in development, competitive service offerings and lack of market acceptance. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in the TiVo Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 1999 and form 10Q dated March 31, 2000 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
TiVo is a registered trademark of TiVo Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other company or product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.