TiVo: Subs up, but also losses
November 23, 2011
By Chris Forrester
DVR specialist TiVo added 117,000 net new subscribers during its Q3 period (to end of October 2011), a complete reverse of the 112,000 lost in the same period last year, and a 33,000 drop in Q2 2011. TiVo was helped in winning these new subscribers by the roll-out of its technology by UK cableco Virgin Media. TiVo now has more than two million subs, about half of which come through wholesale partnerships.
This was the first positive gain in subscribers for four years. In the UK, Virgin Media has now deployed its TiVo offering to more than 220,000 subscribers as of the end of October, said TiVo, up from 50,000 three months earlier.
However, despite this gain TiVo is still losing money. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers told analysts that its Q4 losses would be in the $31 million-$33 million range, following on from Q3’s loss of $24.5 million ($20.6 million same period last year).
Rogers also explained that the Thai floods would have an impact on the supply and cost of the company’s hard drives.