The tech-watching crew at CNET's News.com isn't the type to blow smoke at the market. That's why I took a great deal of interest in an article yesterday claiming that two different sources had TiVo
What do the two search giants see in TiVo? Well, lately, Google and Yahoo! have been a lot like that freaky well-dwelling Samara Morgan kid from The Ring movies, trying to move off the screen and make a difference in the real world. For Google and Yahoo! that has meant being willing to take on Microsoft
Will Internet-enabled TiVo subscribers be able to scour this growing video content collection and download it directly to their TiVo boxes? That's what the News.com article seems to be proposing. If you connect the dots, a deal like this would put TiVo right at the front porch of video-on-demand, something that it has been developing in cahoots with Netflix
Yet missing in all of this speculation is what I think is the real reason Google or Yahoo! may be warming up to TiVo. When TiVo first started experimenting with small ads during its user rebroadcasts last month, our own Tim Beyers called the practice "channeling Google" because it gave TiVo the right to serve up fresh, targeted ads the way that Google does with its AdWords contextual advertising service.
While Google has already hooked up with Comcast
It's still too early to tell how this will all end up, but it definitely merits some attention. Just make sure you make that copy of the tape within seven days. Samara is watching.
Some recent TiVo tidbits:
- TiVo really is gearing up to ape Google.
- The company is also looking to become the next Madison Avenue power broker.
- Share your thoughts or pilfer those of others in our TiVo discussion board.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does have a TiVo, but he does not own shares in the company. He does own shares in Netflix. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.