SAN FRANCISCO – TiVo Inc. (TIVO) Tuesday posted a narrower net loss as the maker of digital video recorders added more subscribers from its relationship with DirecTV, but Tivo-owned net subscription additions declined.
The company said its net loss for its third fiscal quarter ended in October was $14.2 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with a loss of $26.4 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.
TiVo, based in Alviso, Calif., added 379,000 net DirecTV (DTV) subscriptions in the third quarter compared with 316,000 in the year-earlier period as it ran a rebate promotion that essentially gave away TiVo recorders for free.
But Tivo-owned net subscription additions declined to 55,000 from 103,000. TiVo said the quarterly results reflected increased cable competition.
The shares fell 9.6 percent to $5.18 on the Nasdaq market after earnings were announced.
TiVo competes against operators of cable and satellite television networks that are increasingly offering video recording functions built into set-top boxes.
Analysts had expected the company to post a loss of $24.9 million, or 26 cents per share, before items, on revenues of $42.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, analysts expect a loss of $26.7 million, or 29 cents per share, on sales of $46.77 million.
In recent weeks, the company has announced a raft of deals with Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) and Sony (SNE) to expand its reach and potential revenue base.
TiVo expects soon to start testing a feature that will let subscribers transfer recorded television shows to Apple iPod players or Sony's PlayStation Portable gaming device.
On Monday, TiVo also said it would soon offer technology to let viewers search for advertisements.
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