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Tivo Case Analysis

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TiVo and Consumers
TiVo is a brand of digital video recorder that offers numerous functions far advanced than the regular VCR or DVD player. The TiVo recorder has the ability to pause and replay live TV as well as an array of flexible recording services that is personalized for the consumers.
The adoption of TiVo when it was first released was facilitated by the belief that consumers who owned a TiVo black box and subscribed to the TiVo service can take control of what programs to watch and when to watch them. The device attracted consumers who were tired of missing their favorite shows because they were too busy to watch them. TiVo also enabled people to fast-forward over irreverent advertising. TV watchers can “pause” a live show to …show more content…

This information will make it easier for advertisers to create more personal, attention-grabbing commercials. TV network stations also faced changes thanks to TiVo’s innovative technology. The normal rules of placing shows on specific days at a certain time no longer applied since people could now record and watch any show at any time. On the other hand, this also led to networks being able to track how well a new show is doing before it even airs by looking at how many people were recording it. In the fall of 2000, Microsoft introduced UltimateTV. Similar to TiVo, Microsoft’s UltimateTV was a DVR add-on to its WebTV service which already offered email and web browsing, things which TiVo did not. UltimateTV also had other features such as recording two shows at once and 30-second skip. Microsoft’s UltimateTV did have some weaknesses, however. This included a lack of time in the DVR market and a relatively small group of current subscribers to their WebTV service. Thus, Microsoft needs to convince consumers not only that UltimateTV is superior to TiVo but that WebTV is a useful tool.
Marketing Plan
TiVo’s marketing plan was greatly influenced by disappointing Christmas sales in 1999. They brought the price way down from nearly $1,000 to less than $500. Early adopters were not willing to consider the technology at $1,000.
This ties in closely to the problems they had with the “product” section of the marketing mix. TiVo was

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