James Delahunty
7 Sep 2004 7:15
TiVo and Netflix are to team up to offer legal movie downloads over broadband connections according to NewsWeek. No details have been released about the costs of the services, or when it will officially go ahead but the partnership is expected to go public later this month. The two companies have always been close, TiVo's CEO just happens to be a Netflix board member. TiVo purchased Strangeberry in January, a startup founded by Arthur van Hoff, who is a developer of the Java Language.
Not many people have seen the Strangeberry in action but it has been described as a TV-centric router for managing all kinds of video and audio content around a home network. Netflix and TiVo are expected to face a tough fight from telecommunications giants and media pigopolists. TiVo pioneered the concert of the PVR but has not had luck making any profit yet. It has forecasted an operating loss of $41 million on revenues of $28 million in the current quarter. Netflix is an online DVD retailer and in its most recent quarter Netflix turned in a gross profit of $3.3 million on subscription revenues of $63 million.
Sources:
The Register
Reuters.com