TGC Inc (替您錄科技), the local distributor of the popular US digital video recorder (DVR) TiVo Inc, yesterday announced a partnership with a local cable TV operator in a bid to expand its base of subscribers in Taiwan.
Starting this month, subscribers of Eastern Multimedia Co (
Eastern Multimedia, the nation's largest cable operator, currently garners 1.01 million subscribers, or 22 percent of the local market, Fair Trade Commission statistics show.
For NT$899 (US$28) a month, viewers will be able to enjoy TiVo services, broadband Internet at 2 megabits per second, as well as a wireless access point set up at their homes, the statement said.
Exclusive services will be tied in for new subscribers, such as real-time weather report and news, the statement said.
TiVo is a set-top box that can record television programs digitally onto a hard disk. Viewers can then skip commercials and pause, rewind or fast-forward programs.
"We expect 20 percent of Taiwanese households will adopt DVR services within five years and hopefully TiVo will gain the largest share," TGC president Chien Ta-wei (錢大衛) said in July.
The company roped in its first cable TV partner, Cable Giant (新店有線電視), in June.
It would continue to talk to other cable operators, broadband firms and content providers to enhance services, as quality and a variety of content are key to the success of TiVo, Chien said at the time.
TiVo posted a narrower third-quarter loss on modest subscriber gains on Wednesday.
The company reported a net loss of US$11.1 million for its quarter ending Oct. 31, or a net loss of US$0.12 per share, for the three months ending Oct. 31, Alviso, California-based TiVo said in a release on its Web site. This was compared to a net loss of US$14.2 million, or US$0.17 per share, for the third quarter of last year, the release said.
As of Oct. 31, total subscriptions were up from last quarter to 4.4 million, up 11 percent over last year.
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