TiVo Targets Overseas Biz With Conax

Will market DVB set-top to operators

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/8/2010 5:00:00 AM

DVR supplier TiVo, which has been augmenting its retail business by reaching partnerships with U.S. operators like Comcast and RCN, is now going after the international pay-TV market. The Alviso, Calif.-based company has reached a deal with Norwegian content security supplier Conax to offer a next-generation, DVB-compliant set-top box platform that the companies will market to television operators around the world. 

The deal will bring TiVo's expertise in user interface technology, including the ability to integrate online content into the living-room TV experience, together with Conax's content security, which is used in television services delivered to operators covering over 100 million households in over 80 countries. They say the joint solution can be quickly and easily deployed by operators using Conax-certified platforms in Scandinavia, mainland Europe and India. 

"They are the only player that has successfully integrated top-tier content from diverse Internet sources like Netflix, Blockbuster, YouTube, and Amazon VOD along with linear television into a single, vivid user interface already available to consumers in the United States," said Conax Executive VP Geir Bjørndal, referring to TiVo. "Our European customers have made clear that they plan to deploy similar capabilities and we can't imagine a better technology partner than TiVo to help us make it happen, and strengthen our competitive market position."

 "Conax has amassed a stellar record for helping its customers quickly launch new services in a variety of environments without major startup complexity," said TiVo VP and GM Joshua Danovitz in a statement. "Its broad portfolio of set-top box and pay television partners is testament to the value of this approach. We are very enthusiastic about this new relationship with Conax, particularly because it means operators will soon be able to distribute a highly differentiated, next generation user interface that applies TiVo's leadership in marrying broadband delivered content with the traditional television experience."