TiVo may be the premier DVR on the market. It may have the edge on the technology and the patents to back it up. And they may be winning their legal fights, either by court order or by settlement, but sometimes good isn't good enough. And shareholders not happy with the verdict sold their shares and watched the stock price go markedly lower. Apparently, they expected a bigger payday.
Today, TiVo has a superior product; yet, as we all know, that technological superiority only lasts till the next technical improvement or disruption comes along. TiVo still need to get deeper in with the cable operators where the heart of their growth lies. TiVo needs to be integrated in every cable set top DVR box. That is where the subscription revenue, ad revenue, and research revenue lies.
Until consumers can buy their TiVo box at retail and install without a cable truck roll to get connectivity to the cable pipe, most consumers will let their cable company give them a generic DVR box. If it is too much of a hassle, a majority of consumers won't take the extra time to do it themselves. Should TiVo get the cable operators to agree to a simple connectivity and authorization online without a CableCard, then consumers might just be willing to buy their own set top box.
Shareholders may be bothered short term by the outcome, but long term, TiVo still offers a great product.
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