You might still think of TiVo as a DVR company, but this year a different strategy is starting to emerge. TiVo didn’t bring any consumer hardware to CES 2017; instead, the company showed off a brand-new TiVo interface—first announced last September—that tries to predict what you might watch based on past viewing patterns.
That new interface should become available for the entire TiVo customer base this year, says Paul Stathacopoulos, TiVo’s vice president of strategy. But it won’t just be for DVR boxes. It can also run on Android, paving the way for new streaming devices with TiVo’s recommendations, browsing experience, and search on top.
[h=Prediction engine]2[/h] TiVo’s emphasis on software, rather than hardware, at CES shouldn’t be a huge surprise. Last year, TiVo was acquired by Rovi, a company that licenses TV-guide data, metadata, and other intellectual property related to video (the combined entity is now called TiVo, Inc.). Around the time of acquisition, Rovi said it wasn’t particularly excited by the consumer hardware business, and seemed more interested in licensing its software and services to device makers.
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