What is TiVo? How This Revolutionary Product Failed

Does anyone remember TiVo? I sure do. TiVo was pretty much the coolest thing ever back in the day. As a kid, I didn’t know anyone who didn’t have it set up in their homes. 

It is hard to believe, but one of the most revolutionary products to ever hit the market was also one of the biggest flops. Today, TiVo (which stands for “Tv in Video out”) is no longer a viable product, having gone through a few rounds of price drops and given way to competing products. However, at one time, it was the gold standard for content recording. This product revolutionized the way we enjoy television programs in our homes—no one had ever seen anything like it!

So, what is TiVO? And what the hell happened to it?

What Caused Everyone to Tune In?

Released in 1999, TiVo was a DVR (Digital Video Recording) service seemingly ahead of its time. Their product was one of the first notable DVRs in existence. It gained immediate traction through its ability to let users watch any show or movie at any time. You see, before the days of TiVo, people had to make room in their schedules for their favorite TV series. And if you missed it, well, you had to rely on the network to wait for a rerun (or record on one of them old-timey VHS tapes…)

While there were a few competitors, TiVo stood out with its quirky and fun marketing strategy. 

They had an adorable and colorful mascot, with an equally iconic remote design. The box itself came with so many useful features. The things we take for granted today, such as live TV rewind and show recommendations, came with the release of TiVo. They even went the extra mile by including the “season pass.” This allowed users to select their favorite show, and command the device to automatically record each new episode.

The Impact of TiVo

It’s not hard to see why the service blew up so quickly. In fact, TiVo became so popular throughout the years that its company name became a verb. Gone were the days of worrying about missing a new episode due to work, emergencies, or picking your child up from daycare. You didn’t need to schedule appointments or events around a huge finale. Now you could simply “TiVo it,” and watch things at your convenience. 

As the company came out with more innovations, such as an HD feature, and a TiVo mini which allowed households to use the service on multiple TVs, the company made its way into pop culture. Multiple shows, movies, and news channels made references to TiVo in passing.

Though as TiVo relished in its major success, many other companies began to catch up. Unfortunately, not everything last forever. 

Tuning Out

TiVo’s ultimate downfall began with the natural shifts in technology. It all started with Netflix, the company that took down Blockbuster, and many other movie-selling companies. 

“Both TiVo and Netflix were founded in 1997. At the end of 2004, Netflix had 2.6 million subscribers, roughly the same number as TiVo. At the end of 2007, when TiVo hit its peak of 4.4 million, Netflix had approximately 7.5 million subscribers. As of mid 2011, Netflix has around 25 million paid subscribers while TiVo has dropped to 2 million.” –ZDNet

Streaming services quickly became the new norm. Platforms such as Hulu and HBO Max offered our favorite movies and TV shows with many of TiVo’s features. Most streaming services came with no ad breaks, the ability to fast forward, and the convenience of watching each selection at your own pace. Many Netflix shows released entire seasons at once, which skyrocketed the trend of binge-watching. 

As the years go on, regular television is becoming more obsolete. It’s why you see so many houses nowadays with no cable, and why you see so many networks launching their own streaming services. And with the decline of capable television, comes the predictable decline of TiVo.

It’s not really anything the company did wrong, per se. It’s just the way technology has evolved. While the service isn’t used nearly as much in 2022, it’s still known as an impactful relic of its time. without the innovation of TiVO, there’s no telling what at-home streaming would look like today. 

Featured image courtesy of TiVo