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TiVo Gives Away Boxes To DVR-less Comcast Customers
from the not-exactly-a-winning-strategy dept
Comcast has apparently had its own DVR (I guess we can't call it "TiVo-like" any more) service delayed a bit, and TiVo has decided to make fun of them, somewhat, by offering free TiVos to Comcast customers... sort of. It's a bit of a process to get the TiVo. First, you have to show up at TiVo's offices between 11am and 1pm on Friday -- and you have to hope they haven't run out by the time you get to the front of the line. It's not really free, since you have to donate some money to a TiVo-supported charity (which isn't a bad thing). Also, don't forget to bring a Comcast bill and make sure you've never been a TiVo customer before. And, of course, it's just the box that's free. The service still costs money. TiVo is doing this as a publicity stunt against Comcast, partly because they're not using TiVo technology in their own DVRs, and this certainly isn't going to win Comcast over to their side. Of course, if TiVo really wanted to drive adoption, they should have given away the boxes years ago. TiVo shouldn't care about recouping the cost of the boxes. TiVo only survives if it gets enough subscribers, and the way to do that is to get the boxes out there, and that means subsidizing the entire cost. However, they made the strategic decision not to do that, and now they're facing competition from cable and satellite providers who offer the boxes for free, and bundle in the service fees. The interface may not be as nice as TiVo's but it's tough for many people to justify buying a $200 box and paying extra just for a nicer interface.
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Do this spend 5 minutes with a generic dvr (dish networks's is especually bad) then sit down with tivo for 5 mins
You'll be forking over the cash in no time.
Bonus: try this with your mother and see which she navigates easier.
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Viral Marketing & The Green Revolution
Remember the robed people in airports handing out flowers?
The "free give away" is good for the advertising it gets TiVo.
If they are clever they will have a blog. Then they will quickly get feedback as to how to improve.
Provide two months free service and then ramp up the price over say, 6 months. TiVo will quickly know if they have a success.
A reasonable solution might be to lend the box for 4 months. If you don't like the service then send it back - to save filling up dumpsites.
TiVo can then send out the returned boxes to users who want them, with a sticker:-
"I believe in recycling - this is a recycled TiVo unit".
(It should work just as well as a new unit, maybe even better - it has been tested).
And this could be a status symbol for the Green Folk out there. And I don't mean "Leprechauns"!
How About a Green TV Channel only from TiVo?
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