TiVo CEO: Netflix Rises To ‘Must-Have’ Status

The idea of integrating Netflix with the set-top box has been met with mixed interest among US cable operators, but the growing popularity of the subscription video service has made it a must-have from the over-the-top video world, TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers said.

“Our view has been that the merger of linear and television and streaming over-the-top TV is where the future is, and Netflix has clearly risen to the level of a must-have on the over-the-top side,” Rogers said. “I don’t think consumers feel as if they have a full package of options until Netflix is included.” TiVo’s integration of Netflix in the US has mostly been limited to its retail lineup of DVRs. Overseas, that’s been a different story, as UK-based operator Virgin Media and Com Hem move ahead with plans to offer TiVo-powered leased boxes that integrate Netflix. Domestically, some of TiVo’s multiple system operator (MSO) partners, mostly notably RCN, have a shown a strong desire to offer Netflix in TiVo boxes they lease to customers as Netflix clears hurdles that have historically prevented it from offering its service on MSO-distributed boxes in the US. Netflix is also trying to negotiate set-top box integration deals with operators such as Comcast, but so far has met some resistance partly due to Netflix’s insistence that those operators join Open Connect, its private content delivery network.