It's not really going to move the needle for TiVo, but the company's deal to offer HD DVRs to Compton Communications -- a 5,000-subscriber cable operator based outside Toronto -- is the kind of deal TiVo needs to strike on a larger scale.
Compton, based in Port Perry, Ontario, will offer TiVo HD DVRs through Evolution Digital, which is working with TiVo to streamline the process for small and midsize operators to launch the set-tops. The DVRs will provide TiVo's broadband-connected content and features like remote scheduling.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Typically TiVo has negotiated for recurring per-subscriber monthly payments from service provider partners.
In the last few years, TiVo has found its revenue -- and subscribers -- steadily dwindling as viewers have opted for DVRs supplied by their cable, satellite or telco TV provider. To reverse the trend, TiVo is scrambling to expand distribution deals and make its deals with Comcast, DirecTV, Cox Communications and others translate into bottom-line results (see this week's Multichannel News cover story, "Can TiVo Reinvent Itself?").
Compton plans to launch TiVo HD DVRs before the end of 2009, offering customers a monthly lease option. TiVo's "brand recognition as the world's leading user interface and DVR made it the logical next step to enhance our product offering," Compton marketing manager Travis Campbell said in a statement.
Compton, founded in 1972, claims to be the smallest cable company in North America to offer VOD services.
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