Mediacom Communications has inked a deal with TiVo to provide its next-generation TV experience that will deliver live, recorded, on-demand and Internet video to multiple screens in subscribers’ homes.
Mediacom, the eighth-largest cable operator in the U.S. with about 1 million video subscribers, plans an initial deployment of TiVo-based boxes in early 2013. The MSO will continue the rollout across its footprint over the course of the year.
The deal augments TiVo’s pay-TV roster, which includes Charter Communications, DirecTV, Suddenlink Communications, RCN, Grande Communications and U.K. cable operator Virgin Media.
Of those, so far only Virgin Media has shown significant uptake for its TiVo-based DVRs, with the operator singlehandedly accounted for the reversal in TiVo’s net subscriber base in the last 12 months.
For Mediacom, TiVo will be the primary software provider for a whole-home TV and DVR solution, combining linear cable television with video-on-demand and Internet video content. The TiVo offering will feature the company’s trademark user interface, universal search capabilities and personalized viewing recommendations.
“TiVo is a natural partner for us given the reputation of its interface, its track record of innovation and the speed with which it can bring products to market,” Mediacom chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said in a statement.
Mediacom’s TiVo solution will deliver live and recorded content to any screen in the home, the companies said. The MSO will deploy the TiVo Premiere Q four-tuner gateway DVR, TiVo Mini IP set-top box client and companion applications for Apple iOS and Google Android devices, with a consistent user experience across all screens.
In addition, Mediacom intends to offer the six-tuner, DOCSIS 3.0-capable Pace XG1 gateway with the TiVo user interface when it becomes available.
For the quarter ended July 31, TiVo added 230,000 net subscribers. It was the company's fourth consecutive quarter of positive subscriber growth, again driven by gains at Virgin Media, which surpassed 1 million TiVo subscribers in July. TiVo-owned subscribers declined by 23,000, to 1.06 million, while operator subs increased 253,000, to 1.66 million.
On Monday, TiVo announced that Verizon Communications will pay TiVo at least $250 million to settle the DVR company’s pending patent litigation. That came after settlements with Dish Network (for more than $600 million) and AT&T (for up to $300 million).
