TiVo, RealNetworks Team on Music Streaming

TiVo has partnered with RealNetworks to bring the Rhapsody music streaming service to broadband-connected TiVo set-top boxes.

TiVo and RealNetworks have announced owners of broadband-connected TiVo set-top boxes can now tune into RealNetworks’ Rhapsody music subscription service using their TiVo. The first 30 days of Rhapsody service are free, and after that the service will cost $12.99 a month.

“By adding music to our portfolio of broadband offerings, TiVo is the only universal entertainment provider in the living room,” said TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers, in a statement. “Together, TiVo and Rhapsody have extended the personal viewing experience on TiVo into music, providing consumers with an incredibly easy way to access their favorite artists from their television set.”

The TiVo Rhapsody music subscription service enables users to tune into over four million of music tracks from artists on both major and independent labels: subscribers can listen to as much music as they like, so long as their subscriptions remain current. The new agreement between TiVo and RealNetworks essentially turns the TiVo into a television-based Rhapsody client: users will be able to search for music using their TiVo box and remote, browse music charts, monitor new releases, and tune into thousands of pre-defined “stations.” TiVo users will also be able to use Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down to rate music, and Rhapsody will recommend new music based on those ratings, along with personal tastes and listening habits.

Current Rhapsody subscribers will be able to access their existing Rhapsody accounts and music libraries through their TiVos at no extra charge.

The partnership may be appealing for home entertainment fans, many of which already have their televisions (and home theater setups) running through their primary home audio systems.

The move marks another feather in the cap for RealNetworks’ Rhapsody. This past August, RealNetworks entered into a broad partnership with MTV Networks to merge Rhapsody with MTV’s Urge music service, and entered a deal with Verizon to take Rhapsody mobile via Verizon’s V Cast service.