US personal video recorder (PVR) manufactuer, TiVo, has signed an eight-year deal with major cable operator, Comcast Corp, to supply customised PVRs to its subscribers.
Comcast has 21.5 million subscribers and expects to begin marketing a TiVo branded PVR in mid 2006. The PVR software will be adapted to operate on Comcast’s existing platform enabling interactive adverts to appear on the TiVo menu screen.
The deal is the first distribution deal for TiVo with a major cable operator and comes at a time when questions concerning TiVo’s distribution agreement with DirecTV is in question, as parent company News Corp is indicating that it may want to convert to its own proprietary PVR system.
Over the next five years PVRs are set to enjoy massive growth, with penetration expected to reach over 11% of television households worldwide, according to a report from Informa Media (see DVRs Set To Become Essential Household Items).
North America is predicted to lead the way in terms of household penetration, with nearly 54 million homes expected to have a PVR by 2010, followed by Asia Pacific with 32 million homes and Europe with nearly 31 million.
PVR penetration in the UK is forecast to reach five million in the next four years, with penetration set to reach 21% of the population by 2008, increasing to 34% by 2012, according to research from Starcom (see PVRs Penetration To Reach 30% By 2010).
As a result of this dramatic uptake Starcom estimates that, by 2008, advertisers will have lost 6% of commercial impacts – that is the opportunity for an individual to see a 30-second ad.
The increasing penetration of PVRs is causing growing concern for advertisers, with homes using the technology skipping through 77% of ad breaks during the 42% of shows that are recorded, according to new research unveiled at the beginning of the year at the Oxford Media Convention (see PVRs Causing Increasing Threat To Advertisers).
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