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Technology Stocks : Tivo (TIVO) Interactive TV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andre Williamson who wrote (1644)	4/5/2005 11:02:56 AM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 2093

Roberts: PSP is the new DVR By David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch Last Update: 6:56 PM ET Apr 4, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The new Sony PlayStation Portable handheld device is an extension of the same imperative on viewer choice that has led to the popularity of digital video recorders, according to Comcast Communications Chief Executive Brian Roberts. "There's going to be a very huge proportion of viewers that isn't watching [TV programming] live, and the industry is going to have to work together to find ways to deal with that," said Roberts, speaking during a panel discussion at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association National Show Monday in San Francisco. DVR technology allows viewers to pause, rewind, instantly replay or play back any live broadcast by recording it onto a hard drive. It also lets users easily fast-forward past commercials. Sony's (SNE) (6758) PSP plays video games, music, and movies. An increasing number of viewers, through the PSP and other devices, are going to live in a world in which ads will have to be much more relevant to consumers in the way that Internet ads have to be, Roberts added. Google (GOOG), which is paid for ads based on how many people click on them, has had success with text-based links that have a direct relevancy to the topic of a given search, said Larry Page, Google's co-founder, during the same discussion. Roberts said this more voluntary ad environment is why a significant aspect of Comcast's (CMCSK) (CMCSA) recently announced deal with TiVo (TIVO), the company that pioneered DVR technology, involves ways to deliver ads to the commercial-zapping consumer that will be more "useful." Because ads will be more directly targeted, he added, "ultimately advertising will be a big winner. In the short term, there's going to be a disruption." Roberts agreed with other panelists that the ability to make content available on a wide variety of portable devices is a key element to cable's viability in the years ahead. However, Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation (DWA), said that video piracy "is the dark cloud over the horizon" that worries content providers when they think of that kind of portability. Asked if the film industry would be open to making movies available in on-demand environments sooner than they are available right now (about eight to nine months after a film is released theatrically), Katzenberg was vague, adding that the fact that home video is available so widely after films have been seen in great numbers is a "remarkable value proposition." On the subject of broadband adoption in the United States, Cisco Systems (CSCO) Chief Executive John Chambers pointed out that America is last among the world's eight largest industrial powers in terms of high-speed Internet access. Roberts said he didn't want to see the federal government do anything to promote broadband access, but that the situation could be rectified by the marketplace. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David B. Wilkerson is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.

To: Andre Williamson who wrote (1644)	4/6/2005 10:32:52 AM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 2093

Renting TiVo By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible) April 6, 2005 In case you weren't paying attention, TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) is starting to matter again. Last night, the company struck an advertising deal with Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) that will allow both companies to put fresh ads on recorded shows. Before you start saying, "Hey, I bought a TiVo in the first place because I hate ads, pal," let's go over the recent string of events that led TiVo to become an unlikely marketer. Until a few months ago, TiVo was content to serve its 3 million subscribers. It was taking a huge hit by providing beefy rebate checks on its DVR hardware, but it was hoping to make up the difference through subscription revenue. Even though TiVo was selling just one of every three DVR boxes, its pioneer status and patent-rich proprietary offerings made it the brand of choice. But when DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) announced that it would start promoting a different DVR brand to new users, investors got nervous. Executives walked. TiVo's stock fell into the low single digits. Well, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation has been bouncing back lately, especially after a new deal with Comcast that will allow the cable giant to offer its more than 20 million subscribers a TiVo-branded software service. Last week, noting that TiVo was starting to test ads taking up a quarter of the television-viewing screen, Tim Beyers wondered whether TiVo was starting to channel Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), given the online search company's popularity in promoting relevant text ads on its pages. Tim nailed it. Yesterday morning, DirecTV announced that it was teaming up with TiVo to sell ads on the popular DVR service. Then details emerged that Comcast would be following suit by selling ads shown on TiVo when the cable provider starts selling its TiVo service come next year. Comcast virtually confirmed Tim's theory. Just as Google is able to offer timely and relevant AdWords, the new ad-fueled TiVo will have the ability to show targeted ads even when viewers are watching shows taped in the past. This is a brilliant move on the surface. Marketers who were afraid that TiVo was forcing them into product placements and naming rights to get noticed as the TiVo generation was blazing through commercials can now breathe easier -- but they will be exhaling right into TiVo's coffers. The key here is whether consumers will put up with the intrusive spots. It has to be done subtly enough to not send everyone scrambling to other recorders. But if this works -- and I'm guessing it will, because televised content needs this to work -- there's a new power broker on Madison Avenue.