TiVo Inc.
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics, Digital video recorders |
| Predecessor | Teleworld Inc. |
| Founded | August 4, 1997 in San Jose, California, United States |
| Founder | Jim Barton, Mike Ramsay |
| Defunct | September 8, 2016 |
| Fate | Acquired by Rovi Corporation; merged to form TiVo Corporation |
| Headquarters | San Jose , United States |
Area served | United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Western Europe |
Key people | Tom Rogers (CEO from 2005) |
| Products | TiVo digital video recorders and related services |
Number of employees | 630 (2014) |
| Website | www |
TiVo Inc. was a U.S.-based company renowned for its TiVo digital video recorder (DVR) product. With headquarters located in San Jose, California, TiVo's operations were mainly concentrated in the United States, while also serving markets in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe. On September 8, 2016, Rovi Corporation acquired TiVo, leading to the creation of TiVo Corporation, which subsequently merged with Xperi in December 2019.
History
The company was established on August 4, 1997, under the name Teleworld Inc. by entrepreneurs Jim Barton and Mike Ramsay, who previously worked at Silicon Graphics and Time Warner. Initially focused on creating a home networking device, the firm shifted its direction toward a DVR system utilizing digital video storage. Public trials for this technology began in late 1998 within the San Francisco Bay Area.
In July 1999, Teleworld changed its name to TiVo Inc. and proceeded with an initial public offering on September 30 of the same year. The year 2000 saw Philips launch the DirecTiVo, which combined TiVo's DVR technology with DirecTV receivers to enable direct recording of digital broadcasts onto a hard drive. That year also marked TiVo’s entry into the UK market through a partnership with Thomson and British Sky Broadcasting, introducing the Thomson PVR10UK device; however, due to unsatisfactory sales performance, TiVo withdrew from the UK market by 2003.
TiVo grew its capabilities through several acquisitions: Strangeberry Inc. in 2004 enhanced its home networking and broadband entertainment offerings; TRA, Inc., acquired in 2012, specialized in audience measurement for advertising analytics; and Digitalsmiths in 2014 brought cloud-based content discovery solutions for pay television services. In 2015, TiVo expanded its streaming technology by purchasing Aereo’s assets for $1 million.
In June 2005, Tom Rogers assumed the role of CEO and provided strategic guidance that led to TiVo receiving two Emmy Awards recognizing innovation—one in 2006 for advanced media technology and another in 2013 for personalized recommendation systems.
TiVo was involved in notable patent-related legal actions including litigation against EchoStar (which concluded with licensing agreements) and Microsoft (with mutual lawsuits settled by 2012).
Financially, TiVo reported revenues amounting to US$406 million and a net income of US$271.8 million in 2014 while employing about 630 individuals.
Rovi Corporation’s acquisition of TiVo occurred in April 2016 for $1.1 billion; the merged company maintained the TiVo brand name. The subsequent merger with Xperi in December 2019 resulted in an enterprise valued near $3 billion focused on integrating products and managing intellectual property licensing worldwide.
See also
External links
- – official site
- Articles with short description
- Companies based in San Jose, California
- Entertainment companies of the United States
- Interactive television
- Mass media companies of the United States
- Mass media companies established in 1997
- American companies established in 1997
- TiVo
- 2016 mergers and acquisitions
- Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
- 1999 initial public offerings
- 5
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment