TiVo, DirecTV Make Nice in 3-Yr Deal

by Ed Oswald

Users of the TiVo service via DirecTV will be supported through 2010 thanks to an agreement finalized Wednesday. However, the deal does not mean that the satellite provider would begin selling the popular digital video recorders again.

DirecTV began selling its own DVR last year based on technology from NDS, a subsidiary of parent company News Corp. The company is also looking into ways of providing new services through that device, such as downloadable videos.

The new TiVo agreement extension, which includes a legal aspect, is timely in light of TiVo's court battle with Echostar. The two companies are currently facing off in court over accusations of patent infringement. As part of the deal, neither DirecTV or TiVo would assert patent rights against each other.

"By extending our agreement with TiVo, we are ensuring quality support for DIRECTV customers who already own a DirecTV TiVo unit," DirecTV CTO Romulo Pontual said. "We are pleased to cooperate with TiVo in a way that will best serve DirecTV and our DirecTV TiVo customers."

Some two million DirecTV subscribers currently own TiVo-enabled set-top DVRs. While the company is pushing its customers toward its in-house DVR, Wednesday's deal negates the need for a costly migration that would affect nearly 15 percent of subscribers.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the company said the terms were similar to the initial 2003 agreement that lasts until February 15, 2007.

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