Netflix on demand through your TiVo
Heads up, couch potatoes. Netflix and TiVo are joining forces to have movies and TV episodes instantly streamed from Netflix to the television sets of TiVo subscribers. Stacey Vanek-Smith has more.
The TiVo and Netflix logos (tivo.com)
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TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: Today might have brought us one step closer to the living room of the future. For our purposes we're going to define that as being able to sit on your couch and watch almost anything you can think of without having to get up. The movie delivery service Netflix and TiVo, the original digital video recorder company, announced a deal today. Marketplace's Stacey Vanek-Smith explains it's all about synergy and major advertising potential too.
Stacey Vanek-Smith: Consumers with TiVo's newest box and an Internet connection will be able to download movies and shows from Netflix directly onto their TV at broadband speed. TiVo user Sharon Fibelkorn says she's sold.
Sharon Fibelkorn: Currently if you want to get a movie through TiVo, I have to take out a phone cord, I have to stretch it across the living room, which just makes me crazy.
And probably a lot of other people too, says brand strategist Jeff Gregory. He says unlike some previous attempts at marrying TV with Internet, this one is fast and easy to use.
Jeff Gregory: For someone who they're VCR is still blinking 12:00, they're going to love having something like this that's just plug and play.
Gregory says this is an important move for both companies, which have been struggling.
Gregory: Both of them have been losing market share individually, but now you have product coupled with content.
And that could be advertising gold, says Josh Martin, an analyst with the Yankee group. Netflix already has distribution deals with Xbox and Internet-connected DVD players like Samsung and LG. Martin says Netflix is going to have a lot of valuable information.
Josh Martin: If they're going to be on all these different devices, they're going to have a lot of insight on what people are watching, how they want to watch it, where they want to watch it.
TiVo has its own spate of deals. But Martin says its challenge will be to get consumers to go TiVo again.
Martin: It's just tough to sell you a box for a couple hundred dollars when your pay TV provider will sell it to you for free.
The deal with Netflix may add an incentive. TiVo has just a couple million subscribers, Netflix has more than 8.5 million.
I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith for Marketplace.
Comments
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11/14/2008
ahaha, I'll give ... I was speaking in general about 'movies' and not specifically Netflix. But I am looking forward to getting the system updated for HD very soon.
11/14/2008
From the story: Sharon Fibelkorn: Currently if you want to get a movie through TiVo, I have to take out a phone cord, I have to stretch it across the living room, which just makes me crazy.
Comment: "This is completely false and very misleading."
No, actually this is what I have to do to up link for any reason. Maybe the newer TiVo boxes are different but we have an older model and there be nooo easy way to communicate except the good ol' phone cord ... stretched across my living room to the phone outlet in the kitchen. It's not a pretty sight.
From Dearborn, MI, 11/03/2008
You can also stream Netflix movies from the Microsoft gaming console, Xbox 360. It allows you to rent/purchase movies and tv shows through the online serive it has. Now if you have a Netflix account you can stream that as well. It will be available on November 19th.
From Woodbrdige, VA, 10/31/2008
"Sharon Fibelkorn: Currently if you want to get a movie through TiVo, I have to take out a phone cord, I have to stretch it across the living room, which just makes me crazy."
To receive the movies the TiVo requires a wireless adapter or an Ethernet cable to connect to the internet. Not a cable for a telephone.
From Woodbrdige, VA, 10/31/2008
I don't knwo what provider supplies STB boxes for free. the HD boxes here ar around $10 a month. If it's an HD DVR they are $14 to $17. hardly free.
I'd rather pay for my own box.
From Holden, MA, 10/31/2008
From the story: Sharon Fibelkorn: Currently if you want to get a movie through TiVo, I have to take out a phone cord, I have to stretch it across the living room, which just makes me crazy.
This is completely false and very misleading. The TiVo requires either a phone line or network connection to work. Only people who are using a network connection can get Netflix and other downloads. If Sharon is connecting a phone line for daily schedule updates, she cannot use Netflix at all, and should probably buy a wireless network adapter from TiVo. For the vast majority of TiVo users, they never have to do anything. A substantial number (I don't know if it's half or not) use network connections instead of phone lines. TiVo has been expanding the number of network features steadily: Netflix, YouTube, home music and photos, Amazon video, TiVoCast that are all only available to TiVos with a network connection. This is steadily pushing more users to switch from phone lines to network connections.
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