Google or Yahoo may acquire TiVo |
TiVo is, and has been, in financial trouble. It’s no secret or surprise that they are ripe for some help monetarily or possibly even an outright acquistion. This morning CNET is reporting that TiVo is in talks with both Google and Yahoo.
A second person familiar with the talks said TiVo has held talks with both Google and Yahoo about a potential equity investment, including the possibility of an outright acquisition. Any deal would likely be exclusive, this source said, Nothing has been finalized, however, and the talks could yet fall apart.
I’m not sure where Yahoo fits into this strategically except to be there to not let Google buy them. Yes, they do have their video area — broadcast.com — that they bought from Mark Cuban and helped make him the billionaire he is today. Haven’t heard much new on that front, so that is at least one possible area where Yahoo would benefit. Also, let’s not forget the APIs … can you imagine a TiVO / Yahoo API combo? Wow.
Google is trying to make inroads in the video arena and a TiVo acquisition (or partnership is also being hinted at) would make a lot of sense and benefit both companies. If they can pull the trigger, then they need to dump the TiVo hardware division and license the software like they do the Google search appliance.
Somebody big will buy out TiVO and exploit their user loyalty and brand, but not further their development efforts, thus signalling the true beginning of the end for TiVO and meanwhile other PVR makers will learn how to come up with similar compelling features and usability as TiVO without charging a monthly subscription fee. This will be a crippling blow to the ever fragile TiVO business model.
Look what happens if we substitute the word “TiVo” with Blogger? Hmm.
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Hello. I came through this news article. You have a great blog. This post particularly interested me, for it reminded me I had already seen an animation that depicted this gigantic aquisition… but by the end of 2004. It’s called EPIC 2014.
Comment by rolandog — April 19, 2005 @ 10:07 pm PST
Thanks rolandog. That EPIC vid is fascinating and very well done. Googlezon … kind of scary concerning their motto is “Don’t be evil”
Comment by TDavid — April 19, 2005 @ 10:27 pm PST
Ahh no problem, m8. Though Google is certainly ammassing such a big empire, it’d be interesting to see the development of a TiVo freely available to the masses.
Then again, I hope something could be done to include a service like TiVo with P2P TV … (here’s an interesting list of objectives.
Comment by rolandog — April 20, 2005 @ 2:16 pm PST
[…] Yahoo! compró Meedio, una compañia dedicada al desarrollo de technologías que combinan el poder de los PC’s con la televisión, básicamente con un producto que permite grabar, pausar, retroceder y forwardear televisión (normal y HD) usando un PC. Esta noticia se suma al lanzamiento de Yahoo! Go TV (enero 2006), un servicio que combina el contenido de un PC con la comodidad del equipo televisor. Está claro que el futuro de la distibución de contenido por internet no está en el desktop, sino en el living, con el equipo televisor como mejor aliado. Antes se especulaba sobre una relación amorosa entre Yahoo! y TiVo, un deal que ahora parece estar fuera de las posibilidades. […]
Pingback by paulbeelen.com » Yahoo se mueve hacia TV con la compra de Meedio — April 20, 2006 @ 2:21 pm PST