Joseph, thank you for the TiVo Rewards Referral.

Keep the referrals coming folks - you can still do them through April 28th. I’ll be using the my remaining points for more giveaways, so the more referrals, the more loot.

Thank you for the TiVo Rewards Referral, Kurtis. More points for giveaways!

David, thank you for the TiVo Rewards Referral.

If you’re activating a new TiVo, you still have until April 28th to donate the referral points. I’ll be using more for giveaways. In fact, I think I’ll do another one today.

Jennifer, thank you for the TiVo Rewards Referral.

Leigh Ann, thank you for your TiVo Rewards Referral.

Thank you for the TiVo Rewards Referral, Richard. (And yes, I know who you are this time. )

While the TiVo Rewards program may be ending soon, continued donations in the meantime will help fuel more giveaways like this one. You still have another six hours to enter.

Reid, thank you for the TiVo Rewards Referral. And also thank you to whomever donated on March 5. For some reason I didn’t get an email with the name like I normally do, I just noticed it in my account history.

I will be starting some Rewards giveaways in the near future for those who’ve commented on blog posts, as TiVo is closing out the program and I need to use up the points. So keep donating the points until April 28th, when they stop allowing it. Thanks!

As I reported earlier, TiVo is ending the TiVo Rewards program. I first signed up for TiVo Rewards in November, 2004, but I didn’t really make a big deal out of it. I didn’t yet have the site. I was very active in many TiVo lists, groups, communities, etc, but I didn’t really put my referral address out there much. So by September 2006 I’d only accumulated seven referrals, or 35,000 points, and I redeemed them for product lifetime on a new TiVo at that time. (Yes, the good old days when lifetime was available and just 35,000 points.) That month also happened to be the month the TiVo Series3 shipped, and my review of the same came out. To provide a home for the review I created the first real version of the site, and I included my referral address. That’s when I really started using the referral program.

For the past year and a half I have received many referrals from readers, for which I am very grateful. I don’t recommend TiVo for the rewards, but I’d be lying to say it isn’t nice to get something by way of thanks. I’ve been recommending TiVo since early 2002, when I got my first box, long before there was a TiVo Rewards program. And the termination of the program won’t change that either. I recommend TiVo because I genuinely feel it is a good product and worthy of my recommendation. TiVo Rewards was nice while it lasted, but I always viewed it as a fringe benefit. I’ll miss it, but I’m grateful for the time it was available and there are no hard feelings on my part.

But, since the announcement, I’ve seen posts from upset people at TiVoCommunity, like this winner:

Is TiVo offering us anything in compensation for removing this program? I assume not and hope to find a lawyer who would like a class action suit. It is very disgusting how a place offers something, gets you hooked, and then says you’re loosing that feature with nothing in return.

Words fail me. Other than to say this kind of attitude exemplifies the things wrong with our society. I’d say it lowers my opinion of humanity, but I’ve been online since 1989, so that’s no longer so easy to do. I’d almost be disappointed if some dimwit didn’t whip out the ‘class action’ call over this. I’m waiting for someone to compare TiVo to the Nazis. Still, it gets a deep sigh and a shake of the head.

And there there are articles such as “TiVo shuttering Rewards program, screwing its best customers” at Engadget. It contains the following:

This won’t matter to the vast majority of TiVo customers, no no, this decision only screws the company’s staunchest word-of-mouth advocates. You know the kind, the alpha geeks obsessed enough with the company’s products to others spend their time zealously recommending it to friends and family in the hopes of spreading the premium DVR experience (and earning some points while they’re at it).

You know, I kind of vaguely resemble that remark. OK, not so vaguely, I pretty much define “alpha geeks obsessed enough with the company’s products to others spend their time zealously recommending it to friends and family in the hopes of spreading the premium DVR experience”. Yet I feel distinctly unscrewed. Why should I feel screwed? I got points for something I was doing anyway, recommending TiVo. And I should feel screwed because now I can’t earn points, just like it was before they introduced TiVo Rewards? Why? Oh noes, TiVo isn’t giving me free stuff anymore! Those bastards! I bet they killed Kenny too!

There is a word for someone who recommends products only for a reward - shill. And while I have been accused of being a shill, more than once, I kindly disagree. I’ve gotten TiVo a bit upset with me more than once due to things I’ve posted. If I think TiVo got something wrong, I say so. When I disagree with TiVo’s approach or implementation, I say so. TiVo is definitely not perfect, I just think they’re the best DVR on the market today. And I’d even qualify that to say TiVo is not the best choice for everyone, and for some users one of the alternatives will be the best choice. I speak my mind, whether or not what I say is what TiVo would like to hear. I think that’s important - no one ever improves if they’re only surrounded by yes-men.

Bluntly, I question the sincerity of anyone who would say they’d stop recommending TiVo because TiVo Rewards is terminating. That sounds like the only reason they were recommending TiVo was to earn rewards, and that’s the wrong reason to recommend anything. If it isn’t worth of your recommendation without compensation, then recommending it for compensation shows a lack of integrity. It also means you’ve recommended something to others that you don’t actually believe in, which is dishonest. You’ve lied to those you recommended the product to by making them believe you support the product when you were in it for the rewards. In short, you’re a shill. If you genuinely believed in the product you wouldn’t stop recommending it just because you stopped earning rewards.

The fact is, the termination of TiVo Rewards doesn’t change the product. If it was worth recommending before, then it is still worth recommending. And if it wasn’t, then it isn’t now. Whether or not you recommend something should depend on your opinion of the product, not on how many rewards you can earn by pitching it. (I treat affiliate programs for the site the same way. I get pitches for a number of programs, but I only use those for sites, software, etc, I personally use or would recommend. If I wouldn’t shop there I’m not going to send others there just because they give me a cut.)

This is all just business. I talked to TiVoPony by phone on Friday and confirmed that TiVo is developing a new loyalty program, which will launch later this year. As part of the switch they are terminating their relationship with their current rewards program administrator. That requires closing out the program, which is why everyone needs to redeem their points before the program officially closes out. There isn’t any malicious intent or conspiracy, just changes in the business. There has been some crazy speculation on why TiVo is doing this, a lot of it giving TiVo far too little credit for intelligence. TiVo certainly knows how the program has performed, and what their return has been. As they’re switching to a new loyalty program (and no, I still haven’t been able to pry details out of TiVo), they must feel the new program will provide them with better results. They’re not throwing out the entire concept of a loyalty program, they’re going to try something different.

Remember the point of the program is not really to reward loyal users, but to drive business growth by rewarding loyal users. Don’t confuse the ends and the means. Maybe they weren’t getting a good return on the current program. Or maybe they feel the new program will simply provide a better return. Either way it would make sense to terminate the current program. There is no reason to be angry, or feel ’screwed’, unless you were using the program for the wrong reasons.

So I’m fine with it, and I’m hopeful that the new loyalty program will be interesting. I look forward to seeing what form the new program takes. I’m going to get my parents a TiVo, as I promised, only now I’ll get them one of the new lifetime TiVo HD bundles. instead of a Series3. I might pick up a TiVo HD for myself, I’m sure I’ll get an HDTV for the bedroom eventually. And I’ll be doing some giveaways on the site for those who leave real comments on the blog. (Hint.)

As announced this morning, TiVo is discontinuing the TiVo Rewards program soon. It looks like, as a parting offer, they’ve added a couple of high-end rewards packages for those over-achievers with a high points count. The former high-end was the Series3, which goes for 75,000 points.

Now we have the TiVo Rewards Entertainment Package and the TiVo Rewards Ultimate Entertainment Package. The former goes for 120,000 points and gives you a TiVo HD, TiVo WiFi adapter, and Product Lifetime Service! The latter goes for 150,000 and adds a Western Digital My DVR Expander Hard Drive to the deal.

The TiVo HD alone goes for 35,000 points, and the Western Digital My DVR Expander Hard Drive goes for 28,500 points. I believe that’s a new addition along with the TiVo Duffle Bag and TiVo Backpack, each 5,000 points.

EDIT: Dave Zatz noticed something interesting during an email exchange. The Entertainment Package is 120,000 points and includes a TiVo HD, WiFi adapter, and lifetime service. The Ultimate Entertainment Package is 150,000 points and includes a TiVo HD, WiFi adapter, lifetime service, and a WD eSATA drive. So that means the drive adds 30,000 points to the ‘cost’ of the package. But you can get the drive by itself for 28.500 points - a savings of 1,500 points. Give the Entertainment Package plus a drive for 148.500 - instead of the Ultimate package for 150,000.

After the rumor of TiVo ending the TiVo Rewards program appeared the other day, I contacted TiVo to get the facts. They’ve responded with the following official statement:

After careful review and evaluation TiVo Inc has decided to end the TiVo Rewards program on May 28th 2008. A recently conducted, detailed survey of our Rewards participants revealed subscribers would like to be more involved and connected with TiVo, other TiVo customers, and engaged with our brand, not necessarily with the goal of getting points for referrals. In fact, we discovered that 98% of customers surveyed would continue to refer TiVo to others regardless of a rewards program. Simply put, we continue to listen to customer feedback and are ending the current program to make room for a new loyalty program which will launch later this year.

When will the program end?
The official end date for the TiVo Rewards program is May 28th, 2008 at 11:59PM ET. It will be terminated at that point, no exceptions.

Can I still use my TiVo Points?
Yes. You can use your TiVo Points to redeem great rewards until May 28th, 2008 at 11:59PM ET. After that date, all unredeemed TiVo Points will be forfeited.

Can I still continue to earn more TiVo Points if I refer someone before the program ends?
Yes. Earning TiVo Points for qualifying referrals can take place up until April 28th, 2008 at 11:59PM ET.

What happens to my TiVo Points if I do not use them before May 28th, 2008?
All TiVo Points will expire after May 28th, 2008 at 11:59PM ET. This includes any referral credits, awarded points, or TiVo Points earned through the TiVo Platinum MasterCard credit card.

So the dates previously reported are correct. The last day to earn points is April 28, 2008, and the last day to redeem points is May 28, 2008.

It sounds like some other loyalty program will replace TiVo Rewards later this year, but TiVo hasn’t offered any details on what form that new program will take.

I guess I need to do something with the points many of you have donated in the past. If you have any points accumulated start thinking of what rewards to claim.

After I composed the above, the TiVo Rewards page was updated with this statement:

NOTICE DATE: FEBRUARY 28, 2008
THE TIVO® REWARDS PROGRAM WILL OFFICIALLY TERMINATE ON MAY 28, 2008 AT 11:59PM ET. NO NEW ENROLLMENTS IN THE TIVO REWARDS PROGRAM WILL BE PERMITTED AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2008 AT 11:59PM ET. ALL CURRENT TIVO REWARDS PARTICIPANTS HAVE UNTIL APRIL 28, 2008 AT 11:59PM ET TO EARN AND ACCRUE TIVO POINTS. IF YOU ARE A TIVO REWARDS CREDIT CARD HOLDER, YOUR LAST DAY TO EARN TIVO POINTS THROUGH THE TIVO REWARDS CREDIT CARD WILL BE THE CLOSING DATE OF YOUR APRIL 2008 TIVO REWARDS CREDIT CARD BILLING STATEMENT. ALL TIVO REWARDS PARTICIPANTS WILL HAVE UNTIL MAY 28, 2008 TO REDEEM THEIR TIVO POINTS. THE TIVO REWARDS PROGRAM WILL TERMINATE AT 11:59PM ET ON MAY 28, 2008 AT WHICH TIME ALL UNUSED TIVO POINTS WILL EXPIRE AND THE TIVO REWARDS PROGRAM WILL TERMINATE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE PROGRAM CHANGES.

I also received the following email as a TiVo Rewards user:
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