TiVo Returning To The UK

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After a seven year absence, the popular American digital video recorder TiVo will be returning to the United Kingdom, in a partnership with Virgin Media. TiVo first entered the England in a partnership with Sky Broadcasting in 2000, but some “corporate difficulties” led to Sky producing their own set-top recorder box. TiVo left England in 2003, but now they’re back.

TiVo, the original digital video recorder, had soaring popularity in America in the late 1990′s and early 2000′s when it was the only DVR on the proverbial block. However, most TV service providers offer their own branded DVR set-top boxes and TiVo’s popularity (and stock price) has been on a constant decline.

In order to reinvent themselves, TiVo recently introduced the “Premiere” and “Premiere XL” boxes which combine digital media set-top boxes and the familiar DVR setups that we’ve seen. Although it slipped under the radar, the Premiere series of boxes will be TiVo’s return to England.  They’ll be added to Virgin Media’s offerings of pay-TV set-top boxes. As the Daily Telegraph reports, TiVo is sending a message to Sky Broadcasting by returning to England with their rivals.

The English TiVo boxes will carry “Project Canvas”, a free IPTV offering service that will provide video content from ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT, TalkTalk and (pending BBC Trust approval), the BBC. TiVo and Virgin are hoping that the combination of a strong DVR and digital media set-top box with IPTV offerings will be enough to draw consumers from Sky’s offerings.

While the TiVo boxes are set to appear in England by this holiday season, neither TiVo or Virgin confirmed pricing for the add-on TiVo service. They said that broadband internet connections would be required, but the TiVo service would be competitively priced.