Comments on: Google-Tivo? http://www.markevanstech.com/2005/11/28/google-tivo/ Thoughts on Startups, Entrepreneurs and the Web Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:25:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mathew http://www.markevanstech.com/2005/11/28/google-tivo/comment-page-1/#comment-752 Mathew Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:54:12 +0000 http://markevanstech.com/?p=1113#comment-752 I think you're right to be skeptical about a Google takeover of TiVo, Mark. Not only does it not fit with their strategy, but TiVo offers very little that is in any way unique or compellingly different from what Google could create themselves with a non-proprietary partner or partners -- the same argument that I think made a takeover of Skype unlikely, especially at the kind of price eBay paid. I think you're right to be skeptical about a Google takeover of TiVo, Mark. Not only does it not fit with their strategy, but TiVo offers very little that is in any way unique or compellingly different from what Google could create themselves with a non-proprietary partner or partners — the same argument that I think made a takeover of Skype unlikely, especially at the kind of price eBay paid.

]]> By: Stuart MacDonald http://www.markevanstech.com/2005/11/28/google-tivo/comment-page-1/#comment-751 Stuart MacDonald Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:33:30 +0000 http://markevanstech.com/?p=1113#comment-751 Regardless of what this means for a TIVO-GOOG matchup (and I tend to agree that it is not very likely, though "AdSense for TV" would be jaw dropping for advertisers), the fact that some big US ad agency roll-ups are piloting something with TIVO speaks to the tectonic shake-up building in traditional media. Seems like some of the old-school mass media types might be starting to pull their heads out of the sand. Nice to see them at least trying to play with new models; they simply have to start getting ready to offer advertisers brand building alternatives or they will see their businesses shrink violently (same for traditional broadcasters, clearly). That said, TiVo, though addictive, handy and cool, is far from ubiquitous. Only when TiVo-like functionality lives in every machine as it leaves the TV factory or they start giving the boxes away will this type of thing really move the ad game needle. In the meantime, as you say, it remains spaghetti on a wall. Too bad. Of course, a GOOG move to do "AdSense for TV" directly with cable players, offering some kind of broadband/cable bundle that would include a PVR-cum-AdSense local box of some sort for free if you agree to accept tailored ads... :) - Stuart Regardless of what this means for a TIVO-GOOG matchup (and I tend to agree that it is not very likely, though “AdSense for TV” would be jaw dropping for advertisers), the fact that some big US ad agency roll-ups are piloting something with TIVO speaks to the tectonic shake-up building in traditional media. Seems like some of the old-school mass media types might be starting to pull their heads out of the sand. Nice to see them at least trying to play with new models; they simply have to start getting ready to offer advertisers brand building alternatives or they will see their businesses shrink violently (same for traditional broadcasters, clearly).
That said, TiVo, though addictive, handy and cool, is far from ubiquitous. Only when TiVo-like functionality lives in every machine as it leaves the TV factory or they start giving the boxes away will this type of thing really move the ad game needle. In the meantime, as you say, it remains spaghetti on a wall. Too bad.
Of course, a GOOG move to do “AdSense for TV” directly with cable players, offering some kind of broadband/cable bundle that would include a PVR-cum-AdSense local box of some sort for free if you agree to accept tailored ads… :)
- Stuart

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