The Motley Fool has a good feature looking at the outlook for TiVo from both a bullish and bearish perspective. I still have hope for TiVo, I know Sandy and Greg were impressed a bit when I pulled up my music collection to stream to my living room. In the next few years, I think we’ll see the major networks focus more on content/show production and let new mediums like iTunes, TiVo, and the Internet take over content distribution. Generic DVR’s may end up in more homes than TiVo’s set top boxes, but TiVo can position itself as a premium product ala the HBO and Apple brand. The Bullish perspective is very forward looking at the possibilities for TiVo. The Bearish perspective focuses on TiVo’s past unprofitability and subscriber numbers.
The Bullish Persepective
Sure, there’s competition, but in the long term, it isn’t from the
other box makers. The real fight is to combine the Web and TV in a
single, well-built player capable of delivering highly targeted,
relevant ads. That’s TiVo. Right now.
The Bearish Perspective
Why? Let’s begin by counting TiVo’s profits. Now let’s stop, because it
doesn’t have any. TiVo’s business hasn’t earned a dime in the seven
years it’s been public. On the contrary, the company has racked up
nearly $850 million in losses.