TiVo and Blockbuster Inc. Form Alliance; Companies to Provide Expanded Entertainment Services to TiVo Customers
Entertainment Editors
CES 2000
LAS VEGAS and DALLAS--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2000--TiVo,
Inc., (NASDAQ: TIVO) the creator of personal television, and
Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI), the world's largest provider of rentable
home entertainment, today announced an alliance to expand
Blockbuster's traditional video rental business to an entertainment
service delivered through TiVo. The companies will work together to
develop and deploy a video on demand like service that will enable
TiVo subscribers to obtain a selection of movies for viewing through
their TiVo receivers. The companies will work together toward
deployment of the service in the coming year.
The TiVo/Blockbuster alliance also includes cross-promotional
opportunities that will benefit each company's customers. Using the
TiVo Personal TV service, Blockbuster may, provide information on
products, promotions and upcoming video releases available through its
stores as well as running trailers for movies available through the
TiVo system. Consumers will eventually have the opportunity to reserve
movies for pick-up at Blockbuster stores or for viewing through their
TiVo receivers.
TiVo will have the opportunity to promote special offers on TiVo
receivers and TiVo Services to Blockbuster members, which currently
includes a total of over 65 million active member accounts worldwide.
Additionally, TiVo will receive promotional opportunities in the
almost 4,000 corporate Blockbuster stores in the U.S., through
signage, demonstration kiosks or other activities.
"TiVo has partnered with the leading companies in home
entertainment, and this alliance, with the world's leading retailer of
home video, DVDs and video games, is another step toward providing our
customers with control over how, when and what they watch on TV." said
Morgan Guenther, TiVo's vice president of business development.
"Our goal at Blockbuster is to provide quality movies
conveniently to people at home whether it's from our retail store base
or through exciting new technologies like TiVo," said Santo Politi,
Blockbuster president, new media group. "We are looking forward to
working with TiVo to deploy this video on demand service and to giving
TiVo customers more choice and more control to watch what they want,
when they want it."
"TiVo is designed to provide multiple services to consumers,"
continued Guenther. "The Blockbuster service is one of the premier
entertainment services that will potentially provide content and
commerce services to TiVo subscribers." |
