Tivo, who tomorrow will hold a major press conference in an effort to re launch the struggling Tivo personal video recorder, are sent to charge $37.58 a month to rent the Seven Media device in a move that a senior Foxtel executive has described as being “just another form of subscription”.
Consumers who take the deal will end up paying a staggering $1,352 or almost 100% interest on a base TiVo unit model that costs $699 to buy outright. There is also no guarantee that the new PVR will allow TV recordings to be commercial free with Seven Media set to sell advertising that will run in and around recordings.
They are also set to launch a range of new shopping services with partners such as Blockbuster and Domino Pizza’s.
The launch of new TiVo services will also see HTS go up against Ice TV and their live EPG offering which next year will be able to deliver a range of similar services to personal video recorders from Topfield, Beyonwiz and PC’s and notebooks running Microsoft’s Media Centre software.
Ice TV is also set to launch a Media Centre PVR complete with their own content management system and live EPG service that can be controlled from an iPhone or Windows based phone according to Colin O Brien the Executive Chairman of Ice TV.
Since the launch of Tivo in July only 13,000 Tivo units have been sold, this is a small amount say industry executives who point to the fact that Sony alone sold over 35,000 Bravia TV’s in the first month that the Tivo went on sale.
The Tivo re launch event is being managed by Sydney based Media Company Kinetics following the dumping of launch PR Company Mint PR. Also being introduced for the first time will be Robbee Minicola the CEO of what is now called Hybrid Television Services the Company responsible for the expansion of TV services in Australia.
ChannelNews and SmartHouse have also been told that an expanded Tivo model will be revealed complete with additional storage.
In a marketing flyer obtained by 4Square Media HTS have initiated a bizarre marketing campaign where the Tivo unit is offered for an outright purchase price of $699 or $37.58 a month via a Flexirent package over 3 years.
Consumers who take advantage of this service will end up paying $1,352 without any certainty as to whether they own the Tivo player at the end of the rental period.
Brendon Moo, the General Manager FOXTEL Box Office, New Media and Pay-Per-View said “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”.
As part of their new marketing push HTS are claiming that the ownership of a Tivo player can save a relationship. They claim that 78% of Australians couples agree that a DVR “Improved their relationship”.
HTC are also offering the new Tivo unit online with the offer of a free Wireless adapter worth $59.00.
