TiVo subs top 4.5m
May 23, 2014
By Colin Mann
Total TiVo subscriptions have surpassed 4.5 million, reaching the highest level in the advanced television company’s history. The news came as TiVo reported its Q1 2014 results, which saw Service and Technology revenues of $86.0 million in the first quarter, an increase of 39 per cent year over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $26.9 million, exceeding guidance.
Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo, said this was another “solid” quarter of execution for TiVo as total TiVo subscriptions reached a record 4.5 million, driven by 341,000 MSO additions.
Rogers said the record subscriptions were the product of its leading advanced television technology and its growing relationships with operator partners and had contributed to its strong financial results for the quarter. “In 2011, TiVo launched our solution with three operators. Today, TiVo has launched or will shortly be launching a solution with 15 operators across the globe, not including Digitalsmiths’ operator customers, which has significantly increased our MSO subscriber base. Importantly, the operators that have embraced TiVo have seen stronger competitive positions and improved operating metrics, including increased on-demand usage, lower churn, and higher revenue per subscriber,” he advised.
“More specifically, in Spain, our partner ONO recently announced that the TiVo product has reached more than 382,000 active users, a growth of 59,000 subscribers in just the last quarter. In Sweden, Com Hem reported 74,000 TiVo subscribers, an increase of 36,000 subscribers over last quarter. Anders Nilsson, Chief Executive Officer of Com Hem, said during a recent earnings call that the TiVo roll-out has become the fastest penetration yet among TiVo’s international partners with 12 per cent of their digital TV customers already subscribing. Nilsson added, ‘With the introduction of TiVo, and the rights we have cleared, we have the only next generation TV service in the country’,” reported Rogers.
“Tom Mockridge, CEO of Virgin Media, which recently reported 2.1 million TiVo subscribers that now reach almost 60 per cent of U.K. cable households, said in a recent news article that ‘TiVo offers an unmatched user experience with intelligent search and recommendations helping viewers discover great entertainment, resulting in our customers watching more TV than before,’” added Rogers.
“Our domestic partners as well have attributed the introduction of TiVo services to attracting and retaining customers, including Atlantic Broadband. An executive for that company recently said on an earnings call, ‘We are already witnessing increased primary service unit sell-ins as well as increased ARPUs… we are now winning new [Primary Service Units] because we’re offering TiVo in 90 per cent of the territory.’ And during a recent GCI earnings call, Peter Pounds, CFO, said, ‘On the video front, the increased demand for TiVo has increased ARPU and reduced churn’, he continued.
“We executed well this past quarter, delivering strong financial results, growing our subscription base, and driving new innovation. Together with the exciting prospects for Digitalsmiths as well as smart capital allocation we are confident that we are setting the stage for enhanced future financial and operating performances,” he concluded.