TiVo Inc.

TiVo Inc.
FormerlyTeleworld Inc. (1997-1999)
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: TIVO[1]
IndustryDigital video recorders
FoundedAugust 4, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-08-04)
FoundersJim Barton
Mike Ramsay
DefunctSeptember 8, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-09-08)
FateAcquired by Rovi Corporation
SuccessorTiVo Corporation
Xperi
Headquarters
San Jose, California
,
United States
Key people
Tom Rogers (CEO)
ProductsTiVo DVR
RevenueIncrease US$ 406 Million (2014)
Increase US$ 271.8 Million (2014)
Number of employees
630 (2014)
Websitetivo.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

TiVo Inc. was an American corporation with its primary product being its eponymous digital video recorder. While primarily operating in the United States, TiVO also operated in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe.[3] On September 8, 2016, TiVo Inc. was acquired by Rovi Corporation. The new entity became known as TiVo Corporation, which in turn, merged with Xperi in December 2019.[4]

History

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The company TiVo Inc. was incorporated on August 4, 1997, as Teleworld, Inc. by Jim Barton and Mike Ramsay, former employees at Silicon Graphics and Time Warner's Full Service Network digital video system.[5] Originally intending to create a home network device, they later developed the idea to record digitized video on a hard disk for a monthly service, at the suggestion of Randy Komisar.[6][better source needed] The original TiVo device digitized and compressed analog video from any source.[5]

Teleworld began the first public trials of the TiVo device and service in late 1998 in the San Francisco Bay area.[7]

Teleworld, Inc. renamed itself to TiVo Inc. on July 21, 1999, and made its IPO (Initial Public Offering) on September 30, 1999.[5]

In late 2000, Philips Electronics introduced the DSR6000, the first DirecTV receiver with an integrated TiVo DVR.[5] This new device, nicknamed the DirecTiVo, stored digital signals sent from DirecTV directly onto a hard disk.[8]

In early 2000, TiVo also partnered with electronics manufacturer Thomson and broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting to deliver the TiVo service in the UK market.[9] This partnership resulted in the Thomson PVR10UK, a stand-alone receiver released in October 2000.[citation needed] In January 2003, After poor sales, TiVo pulled out of the UK market.[10]

On January 27, 2004, TiVo announced the acquisition of Strangeberry Inc., a Palo Alto-based technology company specializing in using home network and broadband technologies to create new entertainment on television.[11]

In 2004, TiVo sued EchoStar Corp, a manufacturer of DVR units, for patent infringement. The parties reached a settlement in 2011 wherein EchoStar paid TiVo a licensing fee for its technology.[12]

In June 2005, Tom Rogers, a TiVo board member since 1999, was named president and chief executive officer of TiVo Inc.[13]

In 2006, TiVo, Inc. won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Innovation and Achievement in Advanced Media Technology.[5] TiVo was again awarded an Emmy in 2013 for Technical and Engineering Achievement for Personalized Recommendation Engines for Video Discovery.[14]

On November 25, 2009, TiVo re-entered the UK market by announcing a partnership with UK cable company Virgin Media.[15] By 2012, TiVo services had become a part of 18% of Virgin's TV customer base.[citation needed] By the end of 2013, TiVo was installed in 52%, or around 2 million, of all Virgin TV's subscribers.[16]

On January 19, 2010, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against TiVo, Inc. for patent infringement.[17] TiVo had also filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for patent infringement. The companies agreed to end their respective lawsuits in March 2012.[18]

On July 17, 2012, TiVo announced the acquisition of TRA, Inc., an audience measurement company that measures advertising effectiveness.[19]

On January 29, 2014, TiVo announced the acquisition of Digitalsmiths, a cloud-based content discovery and recommendation service for pay TV.[20]

In March, 2015, TiVo purchased the assets of Aereo, a technology company that allowed subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air television on Internet-connected devices, for $1 million.[21]

On April 29, 2016, Rovi announced that it had acquired TiVo Inc. for $1.1 billion, and that the combined company would operate under the TiVo brand.[22][23] On September 8, 2016, the acquisition by Rovi Corporation was completed.

On December 19, 2019, TiVo and Xperi announced they had entered into a definitive merger agreement in an all-stock transaction, representing approximately $3 billion of combined enterprise value. The combined company's value creation plan will focus on integrating the companies’ respective product and IP licensing businesses.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SEC".
  2. ^ "Tivo Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended January 31, 2014". TiVo. February 26, 2014. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "In which countries is the TiVo Service available?". TiVo. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  4. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (2019-12-19). "TiVo to merge with Xperi to create "one of the largest licensing companies in the world"". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2019-12-25. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  5. ^ a b c d e Asselin, Kristine Carlson (2012-09-01). TiVo: The Company and Its Founders. ABDO Publishing Company. ISBN 9781614801849.
  6. ^ Komisar, Randy (2001). The Monk and the Riddle. Harvard Business Press. ISBN 9781578516445.
  7. ^ Jim Davis (December 22, 1998). "TiVo launches "smart TV" trial". CNET. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  8. ^ "DirecTV's TiVo ready to return December 8th in a few markets". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2012-12-07. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  9. ^ Robert Holmes (June 27, 1999). "Thomson multimedia chosen by BskyB and TiVo to launch the UK'S first Personal Video Recorder". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  10. ^ Matthew Broersma (February 5, 2003). "TiVo switches off UK sales". ZDNet. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "TiVo Acquires Strangeberry". Silicon Valley Business Journal. January 24, 2004. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  12. ^ Steven Russolillo (May 3, 2011). "Dish, EchoStar Settle TiVo Patent Litigation". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  13. ^ Emily Church (June 27, 2005). "TiVo taps Tom Rogers as CEO". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  14. ^ Jeff Baumgartner (August 12, 2013). "TW Cable, TiVo Join Tech Emmy Haul". Multichannel News. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  15. ^ Emma Barnett (March 4, 2010). "TiVo's UK launch could 'make British television personal'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  16. ^ http://investors.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=135485&p=irol-newsarticle&ID=1899958 [dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Microsoft Corporation v. TiVo, Inc". RFC Express. January 19, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  18. ^ Darren Murph (March 22, 2012). "Microsoft and TiVo agree to drop ongoing patent suits, we ask the world to follow". Engadget.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  19. ^ Bill Carter (July 16, 2012). "TiVo to Buy Company That Tracks Shopping of TV Viewers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  20. ^ Jeff Baumgartner (January 29, 2014). "TiVo To Buy Digitalsmiths For $135 Million". Multichannel News. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  21. ^ Perez, Sarah (13 March 2014). "TiVo Receives Approval To Acquire Aereo Assets". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  22. ^ "From TV trailblazer to IP afterthought: TiVo bought for $1.1 billion". Ars Technica. Conde Nast Digital. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  23. ^ Picker, Leslie (29 April 2016). "Rovi Buys TiVo in $1.1 Billion Deal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  24. ^ Spangler, Todd (2019-12-19). "TiVo to Merge With Entertainment-Tech Firm Xperi in $3 Billion Deal". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
[edit]
  • TiVo – official site
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