TiVo is fixing to go public in a couple of weeks, and it can't hype its personal video recorders without running afoul of securities regulators.
But it certainly can't mind having a big buddy speak up on its behalf.
See also: The TV That Watches Back- - - - - -
That's precisely what happened Wednesday when TiVo trotted out Sony, its biggest friend in the personal electronics biz, to announce it had taken an equity stake in TiVo and would weave TiVo technology into its own personal video recorders, or PVRs.
"I bet the TiVo guys are doing backflips in the streets," said Gerry Khaufhold, an analyst with Cahners In-Stat, a market research firm that tracks new technologies.
For those who missed it, PVRs are sort of like VCRs, except they use a big hard disk to store hours and hours of programming.
Because the programs are stored in real time, PVR-equipped couch surfers can pause and rewind live broadcasts and skip ads. PVRs can also filter and record dozens of shows for later viewing.
That's all great, except the devices cost about $500. And for an upstart, getting its brand name out there can be awfully expensive.
Sony changes all that, analysts said.
First, Sony will license TiVo's technology to build its own PVRs that it can then pitch to the same sort of folks who buy its high-end home theater systems. Sony sells more expensive TV sets than anyone else, and it figures to find a receptive audience for pricey PVRs, said analysts.
That will help drive the market not just for TiVo's technology, but for competitors like ReplayTV.
But only the TiVo brand will be on all those Sony boxes, giving it plenty of much-needed exposure. Down the road, Sony apparently plans to weave some of its entertainment offerings -- interactive game shows, music, and movies -- into the programming that TiVo customers can receive.
"If I was TiVo, and had one company I could pick as a partner, Sony would be it," said Khaufhold.
How and when all this will happen exactly, neither TiVo nor Sony would say.
"I don't think we can comment on the specifics," was a recurring theme in a TiVo-Sony conference call Wednesday morning.
But with an IPO in two weeks, perhaps the specifics don't matter as much as the timing of the announcement.
The untested promise of the partnership will certainly add a hefty premium to TiVo's early market price -- a premium, of course, that Sony will enjoy, too, given its pre-IPO equity investment (it wouldn't disclose the size).
At the opening of the conference call, TiVo CEO Mike Ramsey offered a standard disclaimer about SEC restrictions on his freedom to comment. He did add, however, "Hopefully our excitement is not tempered too much in delivering this news to you."
Nope, the excitement came through. And it sounded like this: "Cha-ching."
