Aardvark Daily

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Tivo coming to NZ

6 March 2009

Aussie independent news website Crikey has hinted that TVNZ has purchased a one-third stake in the company which holds Australasian rights for the well-known Tivo product.

Yes, even though they're now crying poor and talking about the possibility of redundancies in the face of a mandate to slash costs by $25 million, it seems that TVNZ's management still think it's a great idea to plonk down almost that much to secure Tivo for NZ.

Smart move or stupidity?

I guess only time will tell but with both Sky TV and FreeView offering their own TiVo equivalent, I think the "genuine article" has probably already missed the boat here in NZ and TVNZ will simply be throwing its money down the toilet.

While TiVo skyrocketed to cult status in the US a few years ago, many of the system's features have already been duplicated by other, cheaper products and given that the Aussie version costs nearly a thousand (NZ) dollars, I can't see a huge rush of people beating down doors to buy it here in NZ.

It seems that the management at TVNZ is devoid of any ability to come up with good ideas as they struggle with the transition to a digital age.

Instead of thinking outside the square and taking the kind of bold "cutting edge" initiatives that being late to market allows, TVNZ have decided to play it safe by simply buying into years-old technology that's already been duplicated by its competitors.

In fact, one of the features that made TiVo stand out from the rest has actually been disabled in the Australian version.

"For copyright reasons", the Aussie (and that probably means the Kiwi) TiVo lacks the ability to transfer broadcast material to your PC -- boo, hiss!

Another worry is the link-up this venture represents between TVNZ and Telecom.

Apparently, Channel Seven in Australia is the majority shareholder of Hybrid Television Services (ANZ) Pty, the company which owns the Tivo rights and which TVNZ has bought into. Seven also owns the online entity YahooSeven which also has a 51% stake in YahooXtra -- Telecom owning the rest.

So what this incestuous little arrangement means is that there are very likely to be closer ties forming between the state broadcaster and the country's virtual monopoly telco. That sounds interesting, doesn't it?

So, if you want to use some of the Tivo's new features, such as the ability to program your recorder through the internet, chances are that you'll have to register for Telecom's XtraYahoo website to do so.

How long before Telecom offers "special deals" and enticements to try and lure TiVo customers to its Xtra internet service (if they're not already subscribers)?

I hope those 100 to 150 TVNZ employees who may find themselves in the dole queue will get some comfort that they gave up their jobs to ensure that NZers were able to buy some old-technology that also pushes people towards the country's monopoly DSL provider.

If government is expecting a big dividend from TVNZ then they should be pulling their hair out over this move. I can't see a road to quick cash by selling TiVo in NZ.

What a shame, there are so many wonderful opportunities to *lead* the digital media world that it seems silly to start off in a way that sees the state broadcaster already years behind everyone else.

Will you be buying a TiVo when they become available in NZ?

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