tivo

Triple-play provider, RCN, said Tuesday that it has launched its "TiVo Premiere from RCN" DVR/hybrid-TV platform and service in Boston as part of a bundled package of digital TV and high-speed Internet services. The offering--which was previously rolled out in Washington, DC and New York City, and which RCN says will next be launched in Chicago, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley--is the result of an agreement between RCN and TiVo that was announced last August (see the article published on itvt.com, August 5th) and that designated TiVo as RCN's "primary" DVR platform.

Here are some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

TiVo last week announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Suddenlink, the eighth-largest cable company in the US, that calls for the latter to deploy co-branded TiVo Premiere DVR's (note: TiVo bills the Premiere as combining linear TV, DVR, VOD and Internet-delivered video into a unified experience delivered via an Adobe Flash-based user interface), as well as TiVo-developed non-DVR client set-top boxes. This represents the first time that TiVo has provided an operator with non-DVR hardware.

Kudelski-owned content protection specialist, Nagravision, said Tuesday that it has been tapped by its existing customer, Spanish operator, ONO, to secure the latter's next-generation hybrid TV platform. According to Nagravision, the platform, which will employ software from TiVo both on DVR- and non DVR-enabled set-top boxes (see the article published on itvt.com, June 30th), will be delivered over ONO's fiber-optic network and will be the first broadcast/broadband content delivery network in Spain.

TiVo said Wednesday that it has signed an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with Spain's largest cable operator, ONO, to deploy "next-generation TV" in Spain. According to the company, ONO will leverage its modern fiber-optic network and the TiVo user experience to offer customers a service that provides a "seamless convergence between Internet and traditional television content" (note: TiVo has previously announced deals to integrate its user experience with set-top boxes from UK cable operator, Virgin Media, and connected TV's from Best Buy's in-house Insignia brand--see the articles published on itvt.com, November 30th and May 25th).

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news stories in summary/round-up form. We anticipate that it will take a couple of days for us to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us. We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers.

[itvt] has just published interviews with Mark Garner, SVP of distribution, marketing and business development at A&E Television Networks (AETN), and with Mike Pohl, CEO of "mood-based" search-and-recommendation company, Jinni.

TiVo and electronics retailer, Best Buy, said Tuesday that development is underway to integrate TiVo's software and advanced TV services (though not the TiVo platform's core DVR functionality) into new connected TV sets from Insignia, Best Buy's in-house consumer electronics brand. The companies did not say when the sets will be available and how much they will cost. This represents the first time that TiVo's software has been integrated directly into a TV set--though the company has announced several deals to integrate it into third-party set-top boxes (see, for example, the article on TiVo's new deal with Technicolor that was published on itvt.com, May 24th).

DVR vendor/service provider, TiVo, and Technicolor (formerly Thomson), a company that describes itself as a provider of production, post-production and distribution services to content creators and distributors, announced last week that Technicolor will invest in and develop an advanced, TiVo-ready HD DVR for operators that license TiVo software.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC last Friday granted DISH Network and its sister company, EchoStar, an "en banc" (i.e. full-court) review in the so-called "Time Warp" patent case brought against it by DVR vendor, TiVo. (Note: the case began back in 2004, when TiVo sued DISH Network--then called EchoStar--alleging that it was violating its US patent, number 6,233,389.

Due to the volume of news generated by the NCTA Cable Show in Los Angeles this week, [itvt] is covering a number of stories in this issue in round-up/summary form:

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

The [itvt] editorial team will be on the road this week and next, so we will be covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

Here is a round-up of some other recent interactive TV-related stories that we didn't have room for in this issue: