Record cable subs boost TiVo
February 27, 2014
By Colin Mann
A record 313,000 cable MSO subscriptions added in the fourth quarter helped advanced television entertainment market specialist TiVo report its best-ever full-year Service and Technology revenues.
Reporting financial results for the fourth quarter and Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2014, Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo, said this was another solid quarter for TiVo and a very strong end to a year in which it delivered positive net income for the full Fiscal Year, robust Adjusted EBITDA growth over the course of the year, and the best year of subscription additions since Fiscal Year 2005 through new deals with major service providers across the globe.
For the fourth quarter, service and technology revenues were $84 million. This compared to guidance of $83 million to $85 million and $65.7 million for the same quarter last year. TiVo reported Adjusted EBITDA of $19.6 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $16 million to $19 million, and compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $(2.6) million in the same quarter last year. Net income was $710,000, compared to guidance of $2 million to $5 million and a net loss of $(15.8) million in the same quarter last year. Net income during the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2014 included an unanticipated non-cash charge of $4.8 million relating to the TRA business.
According to Rogers, TiVo was continuing to see encouraging subscription growth. “Our record 313,000 MSO cable subscription additions exceeded last quarter’s strong results and underscores that the TiVo offering continues to be deployed aggressively by operators globally.
More specifically, in Spain, we’ve seen significant success with our partner ONO, which recently announced that the TiVo product has now reached more than 323,000 active users, a growth of 65,000 subscribers in just the last quarter. Rosalia Portela, CEO of ONO, recently said the company is positioning TiVo as the Pay-TV market benchmark and the record numbers shown in the last quarter show customers recognise that it’s an easy to use, highly advanced service that is superior to traditional offerings.
In Sweden, Com Hem reported 38,000 TiVo subs, with the service already reaching 6 per cent of their customers in just three months following launch, which was faster than the time it took Virgin and ONO to reach those same levels. Andrew Barron, Executive Chairman of Com Hem recently said, ‘TiVo is important to Com Hem as it is the key to restoring growth in our DTV business. The combination of the powerful TiVo platform and our broad content offers provide the strongest TV product available in our market.’
In the UK, the two millionth Virgin Media TiVo customer has been connected since the service launched in December 2010. Commenting on the milestone, Scott Kewley, Virgin Media’s director of digital entertainment, said, ‘Virgin Media TiVo started a revolution in the way people watch and discover great TV and it’s clear from our growth that our customers agree. By offering different ways to watch, with subscription and pay-per-view options, all integrated into a straightforward, intuitive experience, there’s an unrivalled world of great entertainment at our customers’ fingertips.’”