Comcast and Charter’s joint venture Xumo has a some new competition from a familiar brand: TiVo.
On Monday, TiVo parent company Xperi announced the launch of TiVo Broadband, a new platform for cable and broadband Internet operators that allows them to offer a complete streaming TV solution to their Internet-only customers.
TiVo Broadband is available on streaming devices that are powered by Android TV, bringing TiVo’s powerful content recommendation engine by way of a dedicated on-board TiVo app and bundling the device with a universal, voice-powered remote control.
TiVo Broadband also offers dozens of free, ad-supported streaming television channels through its TiVo Plus service, as well as access to hundreds of streaming apps from the Google Play Store, including Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Peacock, Pluto TV, Max and more.
“With the introduction of TiVo Broadband, TiVo is providing operators with a turnkey solution, enabling them to extend video services, inclusive of streaming apps, TiVo Plus free linear TV and more,” Jeffrey Glahn, the Senior Vice President of Global Sales at TiVo, said on Monday. “This solution aims to ease the challenges of TV fragmentation and content discovery for broadband-only users, providing a seamless and scalable way to bring an enriched entertainment experience to consumers.”
TiVo Broadband is compatible with a number of Android TV-powered devices, but cable and fiber Internet operators who want a managed solution — including the ability to white-label the products and pre-install their own Android TV apps — are being pushed toward Evolution Digital’s Stream TV Evo Force 1 set-top box and Flex 4K Streaming Stick.
“Our companies have a common objective: to enhance the streaming video aggregation for service providers’ broadband-only customers,” Marc Cohen, the Chief Revenue Officer at Evolution Digital, said in a statement. “Customers will have access to a competitively priced platform that enhances subscribers’ viewing experiences in terms of both quality and affordability, while benefiting from TiVo’s highly engaging, visually rich interface designed to drive customer satisfaction and reduce churn.”
TiVo Broadband joins a growing list of products for cable and fiber Internet providers who want to offer their Internet-only customers a way to watch live and on-demand TV through a streaming device.
Several years ago, Comcast and Charter joined forces to relaunch Comcast’s Xumo brand as a streaming-focused joint venture. Comcast and Charter are developing and supporting the Xumo operating system for a number of devices, including the Xumo Stream Box and Xumo TV, with the intent of licensing Xumo’s streaming technology to other cable and Internet service providers. (One cable company, Mediacom, has already taken Xumo up on its offer.)
Four years ago, Amazon partnered with the National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC, then the National Cable Television Cooperative) that allowed more than 750 cable TV providers to purchase Fire TV devices at wholesale prices.
