It’s 16 years old, showing its age, and facing competition from the cloud. The cloud! Television ain’t what it used to be.
1. I don’t need to time shift my viewing anymore because television programming has shifted it for me. It’s shifted to Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go, and a world of other apps that make it easy for me to watch my programs anytime, anywhere.
And, here’s the kicker, I don’t have to think about it, and listen to the infernal noise of the TiVo box fan and hard drive. TiVo, listen carefully, get out of the hardware business.
2. TiVo be too expensive. Did I mention get out of the hardware business?
Sure, TiVo is winning legal battles left and right center and it could be the Rambus of the DVR business, but is that something that’s going to make me want to use the service? No – I answer myself so you don’t have to scream at your screen dear reader.
Sure, TiVo, you told Wired that you were going to plot a software comeback, but really, isn’t that just the end of you as we know it.
“For medium and smaller pay TV operators, partnering with TiVo is a good investment. The alternative is for the provider to create its own UI and DVR operating system. Something that involves, hiring teams of developers and research and development. Instead, a company can have TiVo port their software to whatever piece of hardware they’re using. The provider doesn’t have to worry about creating a UI and it can offer a cable or satellite box with brand recognition.” Source: Wired
3. Contrary to popular belief, TiVo is not the best way to watch TV. The interface is better than the ones you get from other DVRs but DVRs are kinda redundant in the cloud. The cloud speaks and we all listen. The experience of the HBO Go app is the best way to watch TV (it’s not TV, it’s HBO). Frankly, who wants to spend that much time thinking about television these days when there is so much more stuff competing for our attention.
4. Television sucks in so many ways. It’s a mess. It wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for cable still kicking it with programs like Justified and Game of Thrones. And, now, we have the binge viewing of Arrested Development, and The Fall on Netflix to thank for making it bearable. TiVo doesn’t fit anywhere in these experiences.
Except Scandal. That’s still a great example of network television’s best practices. Olivia, oh Olivia.
5. Google, Apple, and Microsoft. They desperately want to be controlling the TV experience for us all. They know that they can catch in only so many places and near a big screen is one of them. They want us to remember them before we move on to our Internet enable Samsun or LG televisions and just ignore them completely.
So, we don’t really need, or want TiVo anymore. Sure, TiVo has a good chance to make some big money suing Motorola Mobility, hence Google, but that’s not even going to make it to TV so, who cares.
