America Online and TiVo team up

AOL and TiVo have unveiled an offering for AOL members who are TiVo subscribers that allows them to program their TiVo DVR through the AOL service.

Accessible through AOL Television (AOL Keyword: Television), this offering is available now and is free to AOL members.

“With the smash success of TiVo, we feel this new offering is a great way to serve our members who are also TiVo subscribers,” said Patricia Karpas, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Television. “Helping our members make the most of their television viewing experience is at the heart of our mission, and this collaboration with TiVo definitely serves that mission by making it convenient for our members to watch the shows they love whenever they choose.”

“Now, AOL members can easily schedule recordings on TiVo when they are at home, at the office or on the road,” said Brodie Keast, SVP and General Manager of the TiVo Service. “This partnership will also give us the opportunity to introduce TiVo to millions of AOL members and television enthusiasts.”

To program the TiVo service through AOL, members can go to AOL Keyword: TV Listings, then click on a show they would like to record. From there, the member must simply click the “Record to my TiVo DVR” link. For TiVo subscribers with a broadband-enabled DVR, the command to record the program typically will be received nearly immediately.

In addition to recording programs, consumers can manage their TiVo preferences through AOL. For a TiVo subscriber, managing their preferences can include prioritizing the importance of different programs, choosing which of their TiVo DVRs they want to record a specific program, requesting that a show be recorded once or for the entire season, and more.

To take advantage of this service, the consumer must have a Series 2 TiVo DVR and a subscription to the TiVo service. In the months ahead, this service is intended to become available through AOL-enabled devices including cell phones, pagers and PDAs.

In addition to comprehensive television listings and programming information, AOL Television offers a wide array of offerings for both AOL and AOL for Broadband members. There, television fans can check out exclusive previews and behind-the-scenes looks from television’s hottest shows, watch interviews with TV’s brightest stars, voice their opinions in polls and message boards, and much more.