It's a match made in purgatory.
Two fallen consumer tech darlings -- TiVo
Insignia Connected TV hit your local Best Buy this week, incorporating TiVo's familiar user interface into an Internet-surfing flat screen television set. The high-definition TVs are priced right, at $500 for the 32-inch model and $700 for 42-inch unit.
The new TVs allow seamless access to Netflix
There will be some initial confusion, of course.
Customers that associate TiVo with monthly subscription fees may believe that there are some hidden recurring fees beyond the actual purchase. That isn't the case, because there is no DVR functionality in the box. A DVR-less TiVo? Confusion-opolis, indeed.
Thinking inside the box
Best Buy is simply leaning on TiVo's fluid, stylish, and proven way to scour available programming for something to watch. The trusted brand will help raise the allure of Best Buy's iffy Insignia moniker.
However, what if that isn't the only way that the two companies can benefit one another? A Bloomberg article last month speculated that a TiVo buyout was in the works. Best Buy didn't make anyone's short list of potential buyers in this dreaming aloud scenario, but the two would make an interesting match.
Hit the pause button. Think about it a bit. Let me know if you find yourself hitting the thumbs-up button on TiVo remote.
TiVo has been shedding subscribers for several quarters, but its patent-rich portfolio is nabbing it some juicy settlements from cable and satellite television providers. Best Buy has posted three consecutive quarters of year-over-year dips in earnings and store-level comps, and it could use a little intellectual property to help offset the bricks-and-mortar malaise.
Best Buy hasn't had a problem scooping up CinemaNow or Napster in the past, and TiVo is certainly better positioned as a service than those lost causes.
There's nothing on TV
TiVo, despite finally emerging victorious with a nine-figure settlement in its drawn out legal battle with DISH Network
Best Buy and TiVo have been rubbing elbows for some time. It was two years ago when the two companies promised to "transform the digital home entertainment experience." If Insignia Connected TV is what we waited two years for, this wasn't much of a transformation.
Web-friendly televisions are old news, and Google
However, that is also even more reason for Best Buy to put a ring on it and buy TiVo.
Bloomberg's buyout speculation was limited largely to Google, Rovi
Let's throw Best Buy into the mix. It makes tactical sense. It's in Best Buy's DNA to snap up pioneers that are down on their luck. It would also be the best way to assure that whatever the two companies do work on to crank out next truly does transform the digital home experience, and not simply conform to it.
Should TiVo entertain buyout offers? If so, who would be the most logical buyer? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.