Digeo Loses CEO, Half Its Staff

Digital media developer Digeo - which hopes to compete with the likes of TiVo - has sacked half its staff and announced its COO will be taking over the CEO chair.

Digital media company Digeo—backed by billionaire Microsoft founder Paul Allen—has hopes to compete with the likes of TiVo in the arena of digital media recorders. Instead, the company finds itself making news for laying ff half its staff and announcing the departure of its CEO, Mike Fidler. The company has also announced it will be scrapping its Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR and Home Cinema Edition DMR, preferring instead to focus on a "next-generation" device and shipping its Moxi HD DVR, which is currently being tested.

Digeo chief operating officer Greg Gudorf will be stepping into the CEO position. In a statement sent to the press, Gudorf explained: "As we assessed our situation, it became clear that the best action for Digeo was to focus our work on the next-generation product for the retail market. [..] Previously, we were spreading our energies across too many platforms. This focused strategy promises to bring a set of advanced and compelling DMR features to consumers, at the right cost and at the right time. We remain committed to bringing the best television experience to our customers and we are confident that we’ll emerge even more successful as a result of this focusing effort."

Following the layoffs, Digeo will be left with about 80 employees. Industry watchers speculate that Digeo has faced difficulty getting traction with cable and satellite operators due to competition from set-top box makers like Motorola, Scientific Atlanta, and TiVo. Although Paul Allen’s industry connections (through firms like Vulcan and Blockbuster) may help the company, they don’t necessarily translate to industry-wide momentum.