CBS Taps TiVo for Series Preview

Continuing to look for ways to differentiate itself from the myriad of DVR options now available to consumers, TiVo on Tuesday announced a partnership with CBS that will allow the service's subscribers to see one of the network's fall shows a full week before it airs on the network.

Broadband TiVo subscribers would be given the option to download the series premiere of "The Class." The show features a group of twenty-somethings who all met in the third grade, and whose lives are bound together, the company said.

In addition, the network would also bundle with the show previews and exclusive footage from three other new CBS shows: "Jericho," "Smith," and "Shark." TiVo users will have the option when downloading to also record the premieres of all three shows.

"We're thrilled to be able to introduce this ground-breaking innovation to the industry while at the same time providing our subscribers with exclusives that no else can match," TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said.

TiVo's latest move to build up interest in its services came out of another partnership the DVR maker struck with the InterPublic Group of Companies in April, a marketing communications company.

Broadcast networks have turned to unconventional means to drum up interest for their new fall shows. In July, NBC announced a deal with Netflix that allowed subscribers to rent DVDs with the series premieres of both "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Kidnapped."

The rise of YouTube and other social video sites have also become a place where leaked videos from new fall shows have appeared, much to the consternation of the networks. In all cases, the networks have demanded the unauthorized content be removed.