TiVo and Comcast have long toyed around with partnering up to improve the set-top box and DVR experience, and while virtually none of those lofty plans have come to fruition, the companies have announced a new partnership: TiVo Premiere DVR owners with Comcast service will be able to tap into Xfinity on-demand video content from their DVRs. The capability will be enabled on a market-by-market basis, starting with the San Francisco Bay Area with more markets to follow. Once the service is available in a market, Comcast will also be able to install TiVo Premiere set-top boxes with its cable service at no additional charge.
This isn’t the first time TiVo has partnered with cable companies to enable its DVRs to access on-demand content offerings: TiVo has made similar arrangements with Cox, RCN, and Suddenlink. However, the deal is a feather in TiVo’s cap, since Comcast is the nation’s largest cable provider, and will be offering TiVo Premiere set-top boxes right alongside its own set-top boxes and DVRs as an option for customers at time of installation.
Neither TiVo nor Comcast have announced any dates for when the service will be available in any markets.
The announcement comes in the wake of TiVo’s landmark settlement with Dish Network/EchoStar over fundamental DVR patents, with TiVo wringing some $500 million out of Dish Network after a legal battle dating back to 2004. Comcast and TiVo have also entered into a technology licensing agreement that gives Comcast license to some of TiVo’s intellectual property through 2019.
