“Australian consumers today are quite savvy and willing to invest in digital devices that will stay relevant over time as well as bring ongoing services and benefits,” said Uechtritz. “We believe the TiVo media device will achieve this.”

The article in Current also mentions that“Clive Anthony’s store will also stock TiVo.” So now that’s Harvey Norman, Dick Smith, Clive Anthony’s, and JB Hi Fi. (And, seriously, what’s up with the men’s names for electronics stores?)

Every phone conversation between Ben Stiller’s character, Tug Speedman, and his agent, played by Matthew McConaughey, includes a question from McConaughey as to whether Stiller has received his TiVo or not.

One of the key developments in the film also occurs only when McConaughey tries to find out from the film’s producer why Stiller’s character has not received his TiVo.

To cement its position in audience’s minds, TiVo is also a key part of the film’s climactic scene.

That’s quite a bit of product placement for TiVo in a major motion picture. While I wonder if TiVo may have paid for such placement, in the past they’ve told me that they don’t pay for all of the mentions of TiVo found in TV shows, etc. That it is just organic – so many people in Hollywood have TiVo that they end up putting it in their scripts.

It’ll be a nice boost of brand awareness for TiVo. If they didn’t pay for it, that’s quite a steal.

The original agreement required Seven to pay TiVo a fee for each subscriber it signed. Under the new deal, which was finalised in April, TiVo will be paid a royalty based on how many recorders are sold here.

TiVo’s main competition in Australia will be the Foxtel iQ2 DVR, which retails for AUD$200 and carries a monthly AUD$10 subscription fee. If the AUD$700 price and no monthly fee rumors for the TiVo are true, that would mean a 50 month break-even compared to the iQ2. Which the TiVo is being pitched as a premium product it remains to be seen how it will fare in the Australian market. AFR says Foxtel has a subscriber base of 1.4 million, 350,000 of which have picked up the original iQ DVR, and 15,000 which have picked up the newer iQ2.

I guess we’ll see in a week what all of the details are with regard to pricing and features.

EDIT: The Sydney Morning Herald has also picked up the story, and they have a few more details. One thing the AFR didn’t mention, the iQ2 costs AUD$10-15 on top of the standard Foxtel subscription (Foxtel is a Pay TV service), which runs AUD$37.95 up to AUD$105.95 a month, depending on the level of service. TiVo, on the other hand, will work with the free-to-air programs so there is no additional cost. That does make quite a big different in the break-even point between the two products.