US set-top-box maker Tivo has been bought by tech firm Rovi in a deal valuing the brand at $1.1 billion.
While subscription-free PVRs are cheaply and widely available in the UK, Tivo charges US households a monthly subscription to access features such as series links, wish lists and parental controls.
Once the dominant brand in its home market, the firm has lost ground over the past few years as cable and pay-TV firms improved their own boxes.
The increased competition saw Tivo take a number of rivals to court alleging infringement of its patents and also branch out to provide software and services to overseas pay-TV operators including the UK’s Virgin Media.
Under the terms of the deal the combined Rovi-Tivo business will be led by Rovi CEO Tom Carson and use “the iconic TiVo brand”.
“Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo, with its innovative products, talented team, and substantial intellectual property portfolio, strengthens Rovi’s position as a global leader in media discovery, metadata, analytics, and IP licensing,” said Carson.
“It’s an exciting time as the media and entertainment landscape undergoes a significant evolution. The combined capabilities of TiVo and Rovi place us in a tremendous position to extend services across platforms and to a customer base that includes traditional, over-the-top and emerging players across the globe.
“By working together, Rovi and TiVo will revolutionize how consumers experience media and entertainment and at the same time build value for our stockholders.”
“We’re proud of TiVo’s strong innovation history and of the ongoing efforts of our team to provide best-in-class products for our loyal consumer and service provider customers,” said Naveen Chopra, Interim CEO and CFO of TiVo.
“This transaction is the culmination of those efforts and the logical next step for TiVo. In joining forces with Rovi, our customers, employees and stockholders will benefit from being part of a more diversified industry leader with significantly greater market opportunities.
“Our combination creates a more influential global player with a commitment to product innovation, which will be incredibly well positioned to redefine television.”