Yesterday, PVRBlog and other outlets reported that TiVo and Comcast announced a non-exclusive deal to bring the TiVo experience to Comcast customers.  This sounds very interesting, I'll even say exciting as an early adopter of TiVo but then my, "skeptic chip" kicks in. I have some questions lingering after the announcement.  Excerpted from the press release:

Under the terms of the agreement, Comcast and TiVo will work together to develop a version of the TiVo service that will be made available on Comcast's current primary DVR platform.

Q: Assuming this is the Motorola DVR platform, how will they bring the richness of the TiVo User Experience to a box that appears to have far less video or UI processing horsepower without diminishing the signature TiVo experience?

New software will be developed by TiVo and will be incorporated into Comcast's existing network platforms. The new service will be marketed with the TiVo brand, and is expected to be available on Comcast's DVR products in a majority of Comcast markets in mid-to-late 2006.

Q: Sounds like TiVo found a back-door around what they described as a CableCard "monopoly" issue as exclaimed  in their last analyst call, and the fall-out of their relationship with satellite provider DirecTV. Judging by the time-table it sounds like the engineers are just starting to get spun up on the hardware.  Will consumers have a choice of platforms?  Will the cost be the same?

This long-term, non-exclusive partnership will provide millions of Comcast customers with the opportunity to choose the TiVo service, including TiVo's award-winning user interface and features like Season Pass(TM) and WishList(TM), as an additional option.

Q: Comparable features (season recording in particular) are available on existing boxes, yet TiVo notes these will be available as an additional option.  That means more $$ to Comcast and TiVo on a monthly basis. How much more than we're currently paying? And back to my first point- perhaps there's a new Moto box coming that they'll use as the platform for the user experience but moving from the UI of existing DVR boxes to TiVo is a big leap.

In addition, the service will showcase TiVo's home networking, multimedia, and broadband capabilities.

Q: This is very interesting- I wonder if you will be able to share recorded programs around the home network, the impact that the broadcast flag will have on this, and whether you'll be able to transfer the programs to your Windows XP PC ala TiVo2Go? What about Portable Media Center.  And back to that broadcast flag issue... ;)

[...]

As an extension of the relationship, TiVo and Comcast will make TiVo's interactive advertising platform available across Comcast's customer base without interrupting the award-winning TiVo subscriber experience.

Q: So this is the real carrot for the cable operators IMO. Tens of billions of dollars in ad revenue flow into the TV broadcast market every year. Here's an opportunity to generate more revenue on the front-end (higher and optional subscription charges per month) and the back-end (targeted advertising augmenting Comcast's already owned/leased/sold ad-space.

I'm looking forward to seeing how fully vision becomes reality on this one. I have yet to see if the consumer really wins in the end and if Comcast/TiVo can bring the richness of the experience to the hardware platform. I hope they don't dilute the TiVo experience. What do you think?

As always- all comments are my own and do not represent my employer.