NEW YORK – TiVo Inc. (TIVO) on Thursday said some customers can now buy movie tickets and check local weather on their televisions, yet another upgrade aimed at proving its set-top box is more valuable than ones made by its cable and satellite rivals.
TiVo, a digital video recorder pioneer whose growth prospects have been challenged by competitors' cheaper models, unveiled several other new services to users whose boxes are hooked up to high-speed Internet connections.
The services, free to those already paying a monthly fee of around $13 a month, include access to the movie ticket system Fandango, online radio via Live365 and the ability to listen to Internet-based programing, or podcasts. Users can also view traffic, weather and personal photos from Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).
TiVo competes against cable and satellite TV operators that are increasingly offering video recording functions built into set-top boxes. Satellite TV operator DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV), TiVo biggest supplier of new subscribers, has begun offering its own digital video recorder that competes with TiVo's devices.
The announcement came a few days after TiVo posted a loss in its third quarter that disappointed investors due to a decline in subscribers it added on its own, and forecast a fourth-quarter loss.
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