For users interesting in owning their TiVo outright, but for whom the AUD$699 cost is too much to swallow in one go, a 10-payment plan is also offered. AUD$69.90 a month for 10 months covers the cost of the TiVo.

The up-front, no fees and retail options remains for user who prefer that option.

Foxtel’s General Manager Box Office, New Media and Pay-Per-View, Brenden Moo responded by saying“I was under the impression that TiVo were not going to offer a subscription service their new Flexirent offering smacks of a disguised subscription fee”. That is one way to look at it, but he may be concerned as Foxtel’s pay-TV service subscription costs from AUD$37.95 up to AUD$105.95 depending on the package, and their iQ2 HD DVR is an additional AUD$200 up-front. So a TiVo subscription package priced about the same as their low-end offer with no up-front fee could provide some strong competition.

There’s another interesting tidbit on the TiVo Australia website, while they’re using MPEG-2 today for movie downloads, by March 2009 they plan to use MPEG-4 to reduce bandwidth usage and speed up downloads. Since other announcements for Australia have later appeared in the US it makes me wonder if we’ll be seeing MPEG-4 movie downloads in the US soon.

[F]or Seven Network, “the horse has bolted”.

“The iQ is the industry standard,” Mr Williams said.

“I see TiVo as a latecomer with little to recommend it.”

Sounds to me like someone is worried, you don’t need to take swipes like this at a competitor if they’re really no threat to your business.

Via Smarthouse.

“Our aim was to double the size of the digital video recorder marker, which was about 50,000 in 2007,” Mr Warburton said. “We are on track to sell 25,000 by the end of December and are confident of reaching our 50,000 target.”

The 50,000 figure excludes DVRs sold by pay-television companies such as Foxtel, which has sold over 365,000 iQ & iQ2 DVRs since February 2005. Another pay-TV vendor, Austar United Communications reported 57,744 MyStar recorders sold by late October.

Seven says TiVo sales are running ahead of targets, due perhaps to their extensive marketing campaign. Seven spent an estimated AUD$3.5 million worth of airtime to promote TiVo during the Summer Olympics (which Seven Network aired). Since the Olympics their monthly marketing spend has been roughly AUD$200,000 between TV and print.

Overall it sounds like TiVo is doing fairly well down under.

Via Smarthouse.

As in the US, there will also be interactive broadband games available to TiVo users. But, unique to Australia, there will also be basic food and grocery shopping services offered over TiVo. That’s curious, I’m not sure if that kind of service is popular in Australia. Despite buying pretty much everything online, groceries have never been something I’ve bought online. Though I know some people who use services like Peapod, and I hear grocery delivery is more common in cities.

Something else the Australian TiVo will offer is pizza ordering. Now that I can understand, and it is something I’ve suggested TiVo do in the US. I order pizza online via the web from my local Papa Johns, and I order online from other places that offering. Ordering via the web is just easier and more accurate than calling in an order, in my experience, especially when you can pay via credit card. It shouldn’t be hard to write an order front end in HME for the sites. Different vendors could do it themselves, but users would have to manually add them to their TiVo so it would be more valuable of they just showed up on every TiVo like Fandango for movie tickets. C’mon TiVo, you know it is a good idea – skim a little fee on each pizza. But I digress…

It sounds like the focus for broadband content and services on the Australian TiVo will be advertising supported, with pay-per-view on some of the premium offerings. The ad-funded content will work much like ad-supported content on the Internet with short breaks of no more than to ads before, in the middle, and at the end of the program. As broadband rates can be high in Australia, and bandwidth caps much lower than in the US, they’re approaching ISPs to offer an unmetered download service for TiVo devices, to be called TiVo Uncapped, separate from the home’s standard Internet service.

“The storage device will be exclusive to the TiVo and will record HD Television. Consumers will not be able to attach the device to other computers or recorders. The TiVo software will automatically see the device and record to it when the storage built into the device is full”.

In the US, of course, it is a standard Western Digital 500GB eSATA My DVR Expander, and the same drive works with Scientific Atlanta cable DVRs as well as with any PC that supports eSATA. Now, this could simply be the ‘Seven Media insider’ who was talking to Smarthouse not knowing that they were talking about. It is true that once you attach a drive to the TiVo it is formatted for the TiVo and you cannot them connect it to another device without reformatting it. But eSATA is eSATA and the drive can be reformatted and reused. I tend to suspect that will actually be the case in Australia too.

Smarthouse also says Seven is set to roll out the TiVo to other retailers, now that Harvey Norman’s three month exclusive is up, including retailer Dick Smith. (What is it with Australian retailers and guys names?) Retailer JB Hi Fi CEO Richard Uechtritz says they still haven’t decided if they will stock TiVo.

Interestingly this story comes just one day after Smarthouse posted a rumor mongering story entitled “Is Seven Media Set To Dump Tivo?” In that story they claimed that ‘Seven Media insiders’ told them that sales through Harvey Norman failed to hit targets and that they were now ‘reviewing their options’. They also said it was “slammed by reviewers.” And pulled this bit from the Australian PC Magazine:

PC Magazine wrote “unlike its US counterpart, the Aussie TiVo is a crippled box. Shipping with a 160GB HD, the TiVo allows you to record up to a pathetic 32 hours of HD or 62 of SD television.

Having personally read a lot of reviews of the Australian TiVo, I have to wonder about the agenda behind this particular Smarthouse article. The reviews of the Australian TiVo have been overwhelmingly positive. Yes, there are issues, and probably the primary one is the hard drive size. But APC was also off base saying it was ‘crippled’ compared to the US box – it has the same 160GB drive. It has lacked the option for eSATA expansion available in the US, but, as above, that’s coming. And calling 32 hours of HD ‘pathetic’? A wee bit of hyperbole. That’s more recording time than the original TiVo models had at all. And more than the TiVo HD has in the US (we tend to have higher bitrates, apparently.) And most users are happy with it. I remember reading that APC ‘review’ when it first appeared, particularly because it was probably the single harshest review of the lot and the only one that I recall being wholly negative. It seemed like the author started out looking for reasons to slam the TiVo. It read more like a rant than a review.

Smarthouse goes on to say “A key problem for Seven Media is content and the emergence of IPTV which will allow consumers to download movies and other content to a HD TV screen.” Yet the author doesn’t say why this is a problem. This is odd, especially since Seven Network has stated that this is specifically not a problem, quite the opposite, since the TiVo will also server as their IPTV gateway into the home. It struck me as very strange that the author would lay this out as a problem with nothing to support the argument when Seven’s stated plans for TiVo include broadband content delivery and IPTV features.

Smarthouse then goes on to talk about Nero’s LiquidTV and declares it a threat to Seven’s TiVo offering. But while they mention it goes on sale October 15th, they fail to mention that’s only in the US, Canada, and Mexico. And really, those who will opt for an HTPC are mostly a different market from those who will opt for an STB. LiquidTV | TiVo PC is no more a thread to Seven’s TiVo box than it is a threat to standalone TiVos in the US – basically none. And that, of course, hinges on some future launch of a version for Australia. The North American version won’t do any good as you need an EPG feed to use it.

The whole article just seemed like sensationalism without any real evidence to back it up, just rumors and unfounded speculation.

- Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $10.6 million compared to a loss of $(11.2) million in the year-ago quarter, exceeding guidance
- Net Income for the second quarter was $2.9 million compared to a loss of $(17.7) million in the year-ago quarter
- TiVo service on Comcast now available in Connecticut; Comcast will also continue to fund development work for the TiVo product to expand the feature set and add support for the Tru2way infrastructure
- TiVo and Entertainment Weekly join forces to connect TV viewers with their favorite shows on an automatic basis
- TiVo successfully launched in Australia by Seven Networks
- YouTube videos now available on the TiVo service; TiVo now provides access to more television and broadband content choices than any other offering in the world
- TiVo’s recent research deal with media marketing research firm TRA ties anonymous viewing behavior to product purchases in millions of homes; Significantly changing the quality of information available to marketers

TiVo is continuing to bleed subscribers, which was expected. With DirecTV continuing to push their in-house HR20/21 DVRs are upgrades for DirecTiVo users, even with additions from Comcast, Cox, and Cablevision Mexico, TiVo lost 136,000 net MSO/Broadcaster subscribers. And while TiVo added 36,000 gross TiVo-owned subscribers, they lost 78,000 gross TiVo-owned subs, for a net loss of 42,000 TiVo-owned subscribers. This is mainly due to legacy subscribers upgrading to HDTV and opting for cable or satellite DVRs. This leaves TiVo with 1.686 million TiVo-owned subscriptions and 3.623 total cumulative subscriptions.

This may sound bad, but it is also partly because TiVo has made massive cuts in their marketing efforts to focus on profitability instead of subscriber growth. For the quarter just ended their subscriber acquisition cost was only $135, a massive decrease from the $758 of a year ago, and only a slight up-tick from the $118 of last quarter. Instead of lots of marketing, subsidies, and rebates, which drive up SAC, TiVo is focusing on working with retailers and other vendors to bundle TiVo with HDTV purchases to capture those upgraders before they pick up another DVR. They’re also focusing on their partnerships with Cablevision Mexico, Comcast, Cox, and Seven Network in Australia.

And in that area things are looking good. The TiVo launch in Australia with Seven Network has been going well and TiVo is happy with it, though actual figures have not been released. And Comcast is finally ready to start a major marketing push and to announce more territories:

In regards to our mass distribution strategy, a top Comcast executive offered the following comments on the progress the TiVo on Comcast service has made to date: “We are pleased with the progress of the TiVo service and have broadened its footprint in our New England market to Connecticut. Refinements to optimize the product’s performance have been mostly completed, significantly improving the user experience. Importantly, we intend to light up a full marketing campaign around TiVo in September and, upon this occurring, we will be announcing multiple additional markets to which TiVo will be rolled out through next year. We will also continue to fund development work for the TiVo product, which will include expanding the feature set and adding support for Tru2way infrastructure.”

Rogers stated, “Additionally, the TiVo service on Cox, which is currently in trials, is on track for a launch in Cox’s New England market later this year.”

“On the international front, Seven and TiVo successfully launched the TiVo service in Australia and because of the significant consumer demand there, retailers chose to release the product early. We are also extremely pleased with the marketing shoulder Seven is putting behind this launch as they’ve prominently featured TiVo in their marketing and programming including the Olympic opening ceremonies, their top rated morning show, and a special advertising spot they developed, which includes dozens of Australian celebrities. International distribution is an increasingly important component of our business model and there continues to be tremendous interest from international distributors for the TiVo offering.”

During the Q&A session when asked if Comcast had gotten to the point where they don’t require a truck roll for the TiVo software install, Rogers answered that that issue was a dependency on non-TiVo software and that Comcast was close to deploying the solution. It sounded like that was the gating factor for Comcast to launch the marketing effort, and that also helps explain Comcast’s satisfaction despite the delays, it doesn’t sound like it was TiVo’s problem.

During the Q&A session at the end of the call, Rogers once again mentioned a tru2way TiVo box, what the user community has started calling a ‘Series4′. He didn’t offer any specifics (unsurprisingly), but his feeling is that it will take more time for the industry to establish a national tru2way playing field to make it viable to release such a product. Personally I think that they may show something, prototype perhaps, at CES in January with the release for later in 2009 as most of the cable MSOs have pledged to have tru2way in place by July, 2009. Just my speculation.

You can get more information from TiVo’s release and key metrics.

[Gerry Harvey] also revealed the TiVo digital recording device brought to Australia by the Seven Network had been a surprise hit.

Seven launched TiVo as a direct free-to-air counter to Foxtel’s IQ device and gave Harvey Norman exclusive rights to sell the product for the first six weeks.

Seven is supporting the TiVo with ads in high rotation during the Olympics.

“We have sold more than three times what I would have expected — and again, I think the Olympics have been a factor.

“I didn’t think TiVo would be a big seller. Sometimes you just never know.”

Selling more than three times that was expected sounds like good news to me. I’m looking forward to seeing some hard sales figures for TiVo in Australia eventually. I’ve seen various mentions in journals and blogs and the general reception from those buying them has been positive. The DVB-T platform seems to be working well, which gives some hope that TiVo will re-enter the UK market (where DVB-T is also used, commonly called Freeview) and also additional world markets where DVB-T is used.

But Joshua Danovitz, TiVo’s international general manager, said: “We’re going to make YouTube available free of charge from early next year.”

This is good news, as Seven Network has announced that they will be charging for additional updates, such as enabling TiVoToGo. This announcement indicates they won’t be nickel-and-diming the users for all new capabilities. And this isn’t the only feature coming soon, Danovitz also says that a movie and TV download service, similar to Amazon Unbox in the US, is coming and they’re “pushing very hard” to have it by December 2008.

While iTWire says of TiVoI think it’s the best choice for Australians who want a PVR that “just works”, they still have some issues with it. And the article counts down their top ten. I’ll take a shot at them.

10. No thumbnails on recordings list

Adam, the article’s author, had been using Windows Media Center so this is something he was used to there. Personally I don’t think it is that useful, the title of a show is more meaningful to me than a random thumbnail image from a recording.

9. Can’t use the onscreen display to flick through EPG

From the description he gives it sounds like PIP, watching one program with a PIP image of what’s on other channels while surfing the guide. I suppose if there is a free tuner and PIP it could be a nice thing to have. But it’d only work if a tuner was free, so it could be confusing for users if it works some of the time but not all of the time.

8. No picture in picture

See #9, I think you’d need this to do it. Since the newer TiVo units have two tuners it seems like it might be possible for TiVo to add PIP. It has certainly been something US users have requested too.

7. No warning against changing the channel when time shifting

While I don’t use Live TV, I fully understand the desire to have this. As long as TiVo flushes the existing buffer when switching channels it would be nice to have some warning if you’re behind in the buffer. One accidental channel change can ruin your day. People have been asking for this since the earliest days of TiVo.

6. Can’t limit a Season Pass to episodes screening at a particular time of day

This is something else US users have repeatedly requested. The most common examples are The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which often have bad guide data and cause TiVo to record all five airings of the same episode. Users have wished for a way to tell TiVo to limit the Season Pass to, say, between 23:00 and 00:00. Sure, you can use manually recordings to work around this, but then you give up many of the advantages of a Season Pass – such as automatically handling conflicts, and doing the right thing when the guide data is correct.

5. Can’t check remaining hard drive space

The Free Space Indicator (FSI) is perhaps the most oft requested TiVo feature in the history of TiVo. Sure, I understand that TiVo’s philosophy of use is supposed to make the FSI unnecessary. But users increasingly expect it as nearly every other DVR on the market has one. And it is a natural thing to look for since legacy recording technologies such as VHS and DVD-R require the user to be aware of the remaining time. And no, there is no technical reason TiVo couldn’t do it. While bit rates can certainly vary, TiVo knows the maximum bitrates. The maximum bitrate is the ‘worst case scenario’, so TiVo can certainly say “There is at least X time remaining”. While I initially didn’t feel the FSI was a big deal, over time I’ve changed my opinion and now I really think TiVo should implement an FSI.

4. No 24 hour skip forward or back in the onscreen EPG

Well, this we know is part of the 9.4 update now rolling out in the US. So hopefully Australia will see this in a future update as well. (Incidentally I still have not received 9.4 on my Series3.)

3. EPG doesn’t indicate which programs are scheduled to be recorded

This is another feature long requested in the US. I don’t understand why TiVo doesn’t do this, it seems like an obvious UI feature. You’d expect to see some indication in the EPG of upcoming recordings, so it is hard to understand why user-friendly TiVo has never implemented this.

2. No ad skipping

He’s basically referring to 30 second skip, which we have in the US as a back door code. It seems the code has been removed from the Australian software, seemingly by Seven Network’s. Since TiVo has included this in all of their US software (even the Comcast software) it seems unlikely that they’d elect to remove it in Australia without Seven requesting it.

1. No streaming content from a computer

The Australian TiVo lacks the networking features found in the US units, such as TiVoToGo (transfers from TiVo), and the associated TiVoToComeBack (transfers to TiVo). The Australian units are expected to receive these features in a firmware update early next year, so this should be resolved then. Though TiVo’s media support is still lacking compared to other media extenders. Hopefully TiVo will expand the native media support to MPEG-4/H.264 and WMV/VC-1 in an update so that everything needn’t be transcoded to MPEG-2. (While 9.4 adds H.264 support for YouTube playback it remains to be seen if they’ll extend it to generic playback support.)

CNET Australia also has a review up.

Australian IT reports that Seven Network has imported“at least 20,000″ units for the launch later this month. There is one thing that isn’t clear from the coverage – if broadband is required or not. Some of the coverage implies broadband is required, period. But others make more since to me, such as Australian IT“consumers who buy TiVos must connect it to their broadband internet connection to be able to access the full array of services.” That sounds very much like the US where you can use the TiVo with a modem, but you miss out on all of the network-related features. An Amazon Unbox-like movie download service is also coming for Australia:

At this week’s TiVo launch, [TiVo Australia general manager Mark] Hughes said Seven would soon announce a similar arrangement to the Amazon movie service offered by TiVo in the US. “Before that we’ll be pushing some short-form video of maybe five to 10 minutes to the boxes.

‘But within six months, possibly a little longer, I would expect to be providing a movie download service as well.”

We also learned, through The Sydney Morning Herald, that Harvey Norman’s exclusivity period, earlier widely reported as three months (and as one month by a few sources) is actually six weeks. This was confirmed by Harvey Norman executive director, David Ackery. Harvey Norman is predicting that TiVo will expand the Australian DVR market by 50% within a year.

And they may be on to something. When the competition says TiVo has a good chance at selling at least 50,000 units in the next twelve months, that’s good news. Especially when the break-even point for Seven Network is below 50,000 units sold.

The Digital Products Group, which sells a number of different DVR models under the Beyonwiz brand, has seen its business with Harvey Norman crash in recent weeks because of its exclusive deal with TiVo, but its general manager, Jai Kemp, says he will still sell about 25,000 $800-plus DVRs in the next 12 months. He says a target of 50,000 for TiVo in a year is achievable, although 100,000 is not. Seven’s break-even point on TiVo is below 50,000 units.

“Fifty thousand is quite possible,” says Kemp. “They’ve got a lot of marketing dollars behind them and they can run TV commercials all night.”

And then there is an article from The Courier-Mail, which bucks the trend by being fairly negative on TiVo’s prospects. It is also interesting that the article also cites reports that JB Hi-Fi will not be stocking TiVo, even after Harvey Norman’s exclusivity period ends. That’s interesting because those reports were countermanded by additional comments from JB Hi-Fi before this article came out. And the article compares TiVo’s pricing to Foxtel’s iQ2, but leaves out the cost of the Foxtel subscription. But on closer inspection that isn’t too strange, since they’re owned by News Corp. News Corp. also happens to be part owner of Foxtel, the Australian pay TV service who’s iQ2 DVR will be TiVo’s primary competition. iTWire has done a great job of covering, and rebutting, the points raised in The Courier-Mail article, as well as adding some additional coverage.

While July 1st was the launch day, units will be available for retail purchase starting July 29th. The units will be sold at retail in Harvey Norman and Domayne stores (both owned by Harvey Norman) for AUD$699 with no monthly fee, as expected. It was previously reported that Harvey Normal will have a three month exclusive on the sale of TiVo in Australia. While consumers will not be able to purchase a unit in stores until July 29th, beginning July 17th Harvey Norman will be conducting in-store demos to prep the market for the retail launch. The TiVo will also feature in the next Harvey Norman catalog which will be landing in Australian mailboxes during the next week.

ISP Unwired, a Seven subsidiary, will provide distribution and support for both retail and online TiVo purchases. TiVo will launch with all of the standard DVR features found in the US – Season Passes, WishLists, KidZone, TiVo Suggestions, etc. The TiVo USB WiFi adapter will also be available for AUD$59 for customers who cannot use the built-in wired Ethernet connection.

What TiVo will not have in Australia, at least at launch, are most of TiVo’s networking features. Photo viewing, music playback, TiVoToGo (including transfers to PMPs like the iPod, etc), and others will be added later. As there is no monthly fee, it looks like Seven Network will be using these features as a revenue source, charging for the upgrade similar to how TiVo first introduced them as the ‘Home Media Option’. Pricing for the update has not been announced, but it has been referred to as ‘tens of dollars’, so it doesn’t sound like it will be that expensive. I think it could be possible that the costs would include TiVo Desktop Plus capabilities, which runs USD$24.95. It does sound like broadband downloads will not come at an additional fee, but since that’s a competitive advantage and a revenue stream in its own right it isn’t too surprising.

According to Seven’s press releases, they’ll begin rolling out the additional features soon after launch, to continue over the next year. Seven will reportedly be spending ‘millions’ during the Olympics, for which they hold the Australian broadcast rights, to promote the new TiVo service. The TiVo sold in Australia is based on the platform used by the TiVo HD in the US, and it supports analog and digital broadcasts. So it is ready for the growing number of digital (DVB-T) broadcasts in Australia. Like the TiVo HD, the Australian TiVo has dual tuners, which handle both standard- and high-definition, and a 160GB hard drive. It also has an eSATA port and Seven will reportedly begin selling a drive to expand the TiVo early next year. We’ll have to see if the port is actually enabled or not once consumers get their hands on the box, perhaps they’ll work with the 500GB Western Digital My DVR Expander drive used in the US.

According to Smarthouse:

“We are currently in discussions with several content providers and we have already built the backend structure that is needed to deliver content such as movies and content from third party providers. Our initial plan is to give consumers a significantly better recording and management experience of free to air TV and then follow this up with addition services”.
James Warburton said “While the service will be advertising free initially, we do plan to run banner advertising inside content going forward. For the consumer they only pay a one off fee of $699 and no ongoing subscription fees”.

Seven’s major competitor is the pay-TV service Foxtel, which offers their Foxtel iQ2 DVR. While the iQ2 is only AUD$200, AUD$500 less than TiVo, there is a monthly fee. 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. Since the TiVo records free-to-air broadcasts and has no monthly fee, it rapidly becomes the less expensive option.

Seven took the opportunity at launch to take a swipe at Foxtel. As reported via Smarthouse:

A senior Seven executive said “We will have no churn like Foxtel and we anticipate that from September onwards Foxtel will see massive churn as consumers switch to the free TiVo service”.

They took a number of other shots at Foxtel, getting some early jabs in at what will be their main competitor. Seven called attention to the 70% of the Australian TV marker which has “turned their back on Foxtel” and opted for free-to-air TV. And claiming that the 30% that have opted for Foxtel still spend half of their time watching FTA TV.

Seven Network Press Releases:

Australians are now in full control of television with the TiVo HD DVR

Nearly everyone has undoubtedly heard of “TiVo” – well now this outstanding high definition digital video recorder (DVR) will be available in retail stores from July…just in time for the Olympic Games and the launch of your next favourite television series.

Australians have rushed to purchase large LCD and Plasma screens (more than 1 million screens were purchased in the last 12 months) in an effort to enjoy a cinematic experience in their lounge room – with the TiVo® HD DVR they can now go much further…

With the TiVo HD DVR you can throw out the paper TV guide and all those VCR tapes. The TiVo HD DVR comes with a built-in program guide that tells you what’s on today and in the days ahead so you can record your favourite programs with a push of a button. Then watch your favourite programs when it suits you, you can also record two programs at once and then watch a third, pre-recorded, program at the same time, you can view and record high definition (HD) television with amazing high resolution playback picture and sound. And never ever miss your favourite part rushing to answer the phone (or deal with the kids) – the TiVo HD DVR lets you pause and rewind LIVE television.

The TiVo HD DVR comes with both a standard and high definition digital tuner which means that you can view more channels like ABC2 and 7HD, in most cases using your current analogue roof-top aerial. There is no complicated wiring or connection – simply plug your aerial into the back of your TiVo HD box and connect your TiVo HD box to your television…then presto you have digital television and can watch 15 channels versus only five channels available on older analogue TVs. As the commercial television networks launch new channels in the digital spectrum you will be able to see even more new channels that your analogue neighbours can’t.

But what is the real reason for having the TiVo HD DVR?…Absolute control of what you want to watch and when you want to watch it – through an award winning and friendly user interface – no more flashing lights on the front of the VCR!!

At the touch of a button you can request a Season Pass® and your TiVo HD DVR will record every single episode of your favourite series automatically. Better yet, if you love an actor or director – simply enter their name in your WishList™ and your TiVo HD DVR will automatically record every program with your favourite person in it.

With TiVo KidZone™ you can provide an oasis of kids programming for your children that keeps them in a safe haven of entertainment they will enjoy without the fear of exposing them to content that is inappropriate. And with TiVo® Suggestions you can have your TiVo HD DVR suggest programs that you might like based on your viewing and recording preferences. These are just some of the great features that are available to you through your TiVo HD unit.

And your TiVo DVR keeps on getting better. Via the broadband connection, consumers can access new features and functions on their TiVo unit as they are introduced. In addition to TV-specific features, the TiVo HD DVR will soon let you view your family photos on the television (optional upgrade) as well as enjoy your favourite YouTube clips. Video content from the internet will also be available soon, enabling you in future to hire a movie and download it through your broadband connection to your TiVo box for viewing. And for the TV addicts, you will be able to record even more of your favourite programs in 2009 when we introduce an external hard drive accessory that plugs straight into the back of your TiVo unit.

The TiVo HD DVR brings you all the features, and more, that until now were only available to pay television customers. Why pay monthly fees for pay television when 56% of pay television viewing is on the free channels anyway? With the TiVo HD DVR, available in retail stores from 29 July for $699, record favourite programs and watch it anytime, with no monthly fees. For more information see www.tivo.com.au or visit your nearest Harvey Norman store from 17 July for a demonstration.

TiVo, TV Your Way – without the monthly cost.

Seven brings the TiVo HD DVR to Australia

Sydney, Australia, July 1st 2008 –- Seven Media Group, one of Australia’s leading integrated media companies, and TiVo Inc, the creator and leader in digital video recorders, today unveiled plans for the launch of TiVo in Australia.

Australians will be able to enjoy the TiVo experience this month.

Under a mutually exclusive agreement, Seven has created the digital platform to enable TiVo’s digital video recorder and service, including the award-winning TiVo user interface.

All free-to-air television networks’ digital channels in Australia will be available on TiVo® DVRs. As FTA broadcasters create more compelling, interactive digital television offerings delivering more choice, more services and more content – the TiVo proposition becomes a compelling case to 70 per cent of Australians who chose free over pay television.

The TiVo® service will be available across Australia and will include internationally recognised TiVo features, including Season Pass® recordings and WishList™ searches and allow users to access broadband content on their televisions.

Through its partnership with TiVo Inc, Seven is deploying TiVo’s leading interactive advertising capabilities that will lead to new integrated interactive advertising strategies.

TiVo in Australia was announced today by Mr David Leckie, the Chief Executive Officer of Seven Media Group, and Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo Inc.

Mr Leckie said: “TiVo’s arrival in Australia further strengthens free-to-air television in Australia. Over more than five decades, free-to-air television continues to define the media landscape.

“Our future focuses on creating and delivering programming across multiple channels on digital free-to-air television, of dramatically expanding the television experience for the 7 out of 10 Australians who only watch free-to-air television. And it’s about us meeting new consumer demands for more control, more services and more involvement in the television experience.

“TiVo will play a key role in the future of free-to-air television in Australia: an industry committed to reflecting the lives of Australians, creating and producing programs that Australians want to watch and introducing the technology and the broader multi-channel platform that will redefine television in this country.”

Mr Rogers said: “We are excited to be partnering with the Seven Media Group to bring Australian television viewers all the benefits that TiVo has to offer.

“TiVo has transformed the television viewing experience for consumers giving them an unprecedented level of control over the programming they watch, and when they watch it and it does so in an incredibly easy to use and simple way. It also provides endless entertainment options beyond cable and satellite.

“By working with Seven, one of the foremost media companies in Australia and the world, we have a strong partner that understands that the future of television technology lies at the intersection between broadcast and broadband.

Together, we expect to generate the same success in Australia that we did in the US and establish a platform which will extend our opportunities to grow in other parts of the world.”

TiVo DVRs will be sold through the Harvey Norman owned complexes, Harvey Norman and Domayne. Unwired will support the sales and distribution of TiVo units to both retail and online customers.

“Harvey Norman was chosen as our launch retail partner because of its national reach, with more than 190 stores and its position as the leading home entertainment retailer in Australia,” according to James Warburton, Seven’s Network Director of Sales.

“Customers will not be tied to an ongoing subscription plan and as new features become available TiVo HD automatically updates using the home broadband connection. There will also be additional services and accessories available as optional extras.”

What is TiVo?

With a TiVo HD DVR there is no longer a need for the paper TV guide as the TiVo HD DVR comes with a built-in program guide to record your favourite programs at the touch of a button. Be able to watch favourite programs when it suits, record two programs at once and then watch a third, pre-recorded, program at the same time, view and record high definition (HD) television with amazing high resolution playback picture and sound. What’s more TiVo heralds the end of missing a favourite part rushing to answer the phone (or deal with the kids) because you can pause and rewind LIVE television.

The TiVo HD DVR comes with both a standard and high definition digital tuner which means more channels than analogue. There is no complicated wiring or connection. As the commercial television networks launch new channels in the digital spectrum Australians will be able to see more new channels which analogue neighbours can’t.

But what is the real reason for having a TiVo HD DVR?…Absolute control of what you want to watch and when you want to watch it – through an award winning and friendly user interface – no more flashing lights on the front of the VCR!!.

Request a Season Pass® and TiVo HD will record every single episode of a favourite series automatically. The WishList™ feature provides viewers with the ability to identify an actor and their TiVo HD DVR will automatically record programs containing their favourite star.

TiVo KidZone™ provides an oasis of kids programming for children that keeps them in a safe haven of entertainment they will enjoy without the fear of exposing them to content that is inappropriate.

Via the broadband connection, consumers can access new features and functions on their TiVo unit as they are introduced. For example, in addition to TV-specific features – the TiVo HD DVR will soon support viewing family photos on the television (optional upgrade) as well as watch favourite YouTube clips. Video content from the internet is also on the horizon by hiring a movie and downloading it through the home’s broadband connection directly to a TiVo HD DVR for viewing.

Having a TiVo HD DVR means no monthly fees for pay television. The TiVo HD DVR will be available in retail stores from 29 July for a cost of $699. For more information see www.tivo.com.au or visit your nearest Harvey Norman store from 17 July for a demonstration. TiVo, TV Your Way – without the monthly cost.

FAQ

ABOUT TiVo

What is TiVo?
The TiVo® DVR and TiVo® service bring you all your favorite TV shows, ready to watch whenever you want. Plus it connects to the internet using your home broadband connection which will continually update your TiVo program guide information and bring you future services like optional upgrade movie downloads, music, photos, and more – right to your TV. All this at your command with one simple remote control.

What are the TiVo features?
With a TiVo DVR connected to your home network and your TiVo service activated (at tivo.com.au) you can:

• Record every episode of your favourite show.
• Record two shows at once
• Control live and recorded shows with pause, rewind, fast-forward, instant replay, and slow motion
• Search for shows by title, actor, category, or keyword
• Record by actor, director, or even your favourite sport
• See shows TiVo recommends just for you
• Pre-approve shows for kids
• Schedule shows online from Yahoo!7.

Who says the TiVo experience is better overseas?
TiVo Inc has been leading the TiVo revolution since 1997. They make the TiVo DVR and the Emmy award-winning TiVo service. That’s all they do. Just a quick online search and you’ll find legions of TiVo devotees talking about how it’s changed their lives for the better. The TiVo service really is the easiest way to search, record, and watch your favorite shows. You’ll even discover great shows you never knew existed.

• The TiVo DVR is the best-known and most-loved DVR on the planet
• Over 91% of TiVo users would recommend it to their friends
• Over 81% of TiVo users would give up their iPod before their TiVo DVR

Is there an Australian website about TiVo?
Yes. Consumers can visit tivo.com.au to understand the TiVo product for Australia. We will be updating this website regularly to reflect new services, accessories and retail opportunities.

ABOUT the TiVo DVR and BROADBAND

How about download speed?
All that is required is a connection to any Australian broadband service using an Ethernet cable plugged into the back of the TiVo box or via the TiVo Wireless Adapter (sold separately). The TiVo unit typically connects back to base via the TiVo service on a daily basis to check for updated software and updated service information, including the latest program guide listings. This process is invisible to the customer and happens in the background. Download speed won’t effect these daily downloads.

How do you download things?
Typical materials downloaded to the TiVo unit would be software updates, programme guide information and updates. Software updates and programme guide updates are initiated over the TiVo service and there is no action is required by the customer.

To download video files in future, the customer would have to request that the video file is downloaded. The request would take place via a screen built into the TiVo user interface (not yet available). The key point is that the download of any video files are completely controlled by the customer.

When will full broadband services, like video downloads, be available?
We will start introducing services soon after launch and the range of services will grow substantially over the 12 months from launch.

The TiVo service is an ongoing process of innovation and renewal. That’s the beauty of the TiVo DVR – we can introduce these new services and your TiVo DVR just picks them up! Then you decide which ones you want to watch.

How much will it add to broadband costs?
That depends on the user’s broadband plan. The point is that this will always be well within the user’s control to decide what content they want to download and what they do not.

BUYING A TiVo DVR

How much does it cost?
$699 with no monthly fees.

What do you need to use TiVo?
A rooftop aerial, a television and a broadband connection. Where you formerly plugged the aerial cable into your television – now you plug your aerial cable into your TiVo box and your TiVo box into your television.

Because the TiVo DVR has both a standard and high definition tuner – to get the most out of your television you will want to have a high definition capable television. But if you don’t – not to worry. You can still see the high definition channels on your television – but it will not be in true HD because your screen resolution is not high enough.

How do I get one installed? What support services are offered?
If you can install a DVD player, you can install a TiVo DVR! Harvey Norman will also be providing installation services through their stores. We will also be working to provide additional installation services in the coming months.

Can I connect a TiVo DVR to multiple TV’s?
This is an optional feature, at an additional cost, that we will make available in 2009.

How many hours storage does it have?
At least 60 hours in SD and 20 hours in HD (depending on station broadcast formats recorded) . In 2009, customers will also have the option to purchase an external hard drive accessory so that you can record significantly more programming content.

How often is the EPG updated?
Daily.

Who provides the EPG information?
The broadcasters license their program guide information to us for use in the TiVo service. We then use a third party to aggregate the information and put it into the correct TiVo format plus check that the data is robust enough to support the TiVo features such as Wishlist™ and Season Pass®.

What is the life of TiVo DVR?
Because your TiVo DVR is broadband connected – it will continually update its own software ensuring that the functionality is best of class and the features are automatically downloaded to the box without the need to purchase a new box and you can choose whether or not to purchase optional upgrades. People in the US are still using their TiVo DVRs purchased in 2001/2002…they last a long time.

What is the role of Unwired?
We are utilizing their significant expertise in sales, retailing, distribution and logistics to bring TiVo DVRs to market in Australia.

TiVo PRODUCT ROADMAP

When will other broadband (including video download) services be available?
We will start introducing services soon after launch and the range of services will grow substantially over the 12 months from launch.

Does the TiVo service support IPTV?
The TiVo service supports the downloading of video content to the TiVo unit.

Will the TiVo service have video on demand?
In the coming months we will introduce a range of video services on TiVo that allow consumers to view broadband video delivered to their TiVo box. A full video on demand service is also on the horizon in the next 12 months as an optional upgrade service which will allow users to hire movies and download them to the TiVo box through its broadband connection.

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.

The Herald Sun predicts that the TiVo is expected to sell for around AUD$700, which is rather more than the AUD$500 predicted by the Sydney Morning Herald last month. However, both papers predict that there will be no monthly subscription fees. The Sun reports that final pricing and plans will be announced this week,

According to Seven Media insiders, James Warburton the network’s sales director “blew his stack” with Unwired CEO David Spence after he revealed to the Sydney Morning Herald last month intimate details in the TiVo roll out.

Unwired will handle distribution, sales, and service for TiVo in Australia, with the majority of units sold at retail. This is also interesting:

It is expected that consumers who take up the service could end up getting over 100 channels of content for free however the only hitch will be that users will be unable to remove advertising totally with new software set to deliver a commercial as they try to fast forward.

That really just sounds like the ‘billboard’ ads we have in the US, where static image ads may be displayed while fast forwarding through recorded commercials. Which really isn’t such a big deal. It isn’t known if the 30-second skip back door will work in Australia as it does in the US. I’m not sure where the 100 channels of content will come from, since there aren’t that many OTA DVB-T channels. I’m guessing they mean some kind of downloaded content.

However, due to feedback from retailers such as Harvey Norman, they’ll be dropping the monthly subscription fee. Seven had planned to charge AUD$10-$12 per month, but now will be reportedly ’slashing’ that – though the new fee hasn’t been announced.

Well, now the new price has been announced – AUD$0. That’s right, TiVo will not carry a subscription fee down under. Basically the is the equivalent to selling the TiVo with a bundled product lifetime subscription. This according to the Sydney Morning Herald:

THE Seven Media Group will launch its TiVo digital video recorder in July after a strategic overhaul that includes a surprise move to scrap a planned monthly subscription fee for the broadband-enabled service.

Before you pack up and head to Australia to take advantage of the free TiVo service, note that the box is expected to sell for around AUD$500. And that’s about USD$482.21 right now. Though that is better than the US$699 (MSRP) for a TiVo HD with product lifetime, which is the rough equivalent, it isn’t a huge savings.

Seven Network would not confirm the July launch date, but they’ve been clear that they want it available in time for users to be up and running for the Olympics – which Seven is airing in Australia. Nine and Ten networks have also signed deals with Seven Network for their channels’ guide data to be included in the TiVo EPG. And deals are being finalized with up to six retailers to carry the box.

It sounds like Australians will get a solid product:

Mr Spence said TiVo’s initial focus on an electronic program guide and the ease of recording TV programs would expand considerably by the end of the year to include online TV content and broader interactive services.

“That’s when we will start to see more things obtained off the internet,” he said.

“The main thing is to get TiVo launched for the Olympics.”

In the US, TiVo offers music and movie downloads, sharing of digital photo libraries with personal computers and access to social networking sites and online video channels.

The head of Seven’s hybrid TV services, Mark Hughes, said TiVo Australia’s line-up would match that offered in the US.

Later this year TiVo is adding YouTube to the US TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD boxes (the Australian box is based on the TiVo HD), which means enabling MPEG-4/H.264 decoding. It sounds to me like that capability will be finding its way to Australia.

It will be interesting to see how the up-front pricing works for Seven and TiVo. In the US sales have favored lower up-front pricing with monthly fees, but Australia is a different market with potentially different trends.

(Dave Zatz twittered about his post just before my Google alert twigged me to the article.)

Due to the reduction in the monthly fee, Seven has had to renegotiate their deal with TiVo. That renegotiation contributed to the slip in the release date. Oddly the article also says“It is also understood Seven will not charge TiVo buyers for software upgrades for the first three years.”, which is strange since TiVo has never changed for software updates and it’d be odd for Seven to charge for them while charging a monthly fee. The original plan of using Internet telephony company Engin to handle distribution of the TiVo appears to have been dropped.

Picked up from Gizmodo Australia.

CNET certainly seems to feel that way as well, breaking down the Australian DVR market and why they feel TiVo will still be a strong brand.

We’re not apologists for TiVo, but we don’t think it’s an amazing idea, given that the marketplace is going to be crowded with plenty of different options come the middle of the year — Foxtel iQ2, TiVo, IceTV, etc. We don’t think “branding” the already available EPG will make much of a difference to whether TiVo launches or not.

The Freeview board is only meeting for the first time this Friday, so their plans are still hazy. It sounds like they’re starting off with nothing more than a branding exercise. They’ll be putting the Freeview brand and logo on their existing EPG and digital channels, and only later will they be offering actual Freeview DVR hardware. It sounds like an effort to forestall adoption of TiVo, which Seven is planning to bring to market in June, as well as slow adoption of the Foxtel iQ2 DVR. Since the Freeview camp won’t have hardware to compete, they’re going to rely on pushing the brand without hardware to back it up and FUD about the competition.

CHANNEL SEVEN’S planned TiVo digital video recorder service could be scrapped within weeks if free-to-air broadcasters proceed with their biggest assault yet on pay television.

The free-to-air industry is likely to launch its own FreeView-branded recorder early next year that will offer access to as many as 15 free digital TV channels and an electronic program guide.

It seems the free-to-air networks in Australia are banding together to launch a service modeled after the Freeview system in the UK. The idea is to compete with pay TV services, such as Foxtel. Part of that effort would be launching a Freeview DVR in Australia, which would compete with TiVo. As Seven’s initial plans for TiVo included having other broadcasters take a stake in the TiVo service, this could put paid to those plans and cause Seven to re-evaluate the launch of TiVo.

Current assumptions are that a Freeview STBs would start below AUS$100, while TiVo is expected to be priced between AUS$300 and AUS$500, plus a subscription fee. However, as in the US where TiVo competes with less expensive cable and satellite DVRs, TiVo would offer more features.

It is possible for TiVo and Freeview to co-exist in the market, with TiVo being a more premium product. And, as the TiVo launch had earlier been pegged for this month (though there are indications that’s slipped a bit), I’d have to expect Seven has already spent most of the money needed for development, testing, and preparing the infrastructure. So they may not have much to gain by killing the launch now – that’s money spent, and launching TiVo now gives them an edge in the market. And a DVR out before the Olympics. The Freeview effort is still in early discussions, and it seems unlikely that they’d be able to bring boxes to market before the Olympics, which are expected to drive DVR adoption.

Seven Network is refusing to comment on this issue, so we’ll just have to wait and see what develops.