TiVo signs another partner as US smart TV launch looms

Xperi, the parent company of TiVo, said it has signed on a seventh smart TV partner that will integrate the TiVo operating system in televisions that eventually will be sold in the US.

Xperi did not identify that partner by name, but it's a "top five supplier" that intends to sell TiVo-powered TVs in the US starting in the spring of 2025, Xperi CEO Jon Kirchner said Monday on Xperi's Q2 2024 earnings call.

Word of the new partner arrives as the company gears up to start selling smart TVs with the TiVo OS in the US sometime later this year. TiVo has already launched a wide range of models with TV partners across several European markets.

This latest, still unnamed partner is the seventh TV maker to sign on with TiVo. In May, Panasonic came aboard as the sixth, announcing that its new 4K-capable W60A platform, which will come in 43, 50, 55, and 65-inch screen sizes, would run the TiVo operating system. Other TiVo OS partners include Skyworth, Vestel, Sharp, Konka and Argos.

Kirchner said smart TVs powered by TiVo are currently available in 15 countries across Europe under 17 different brands. Xperi hasn't revealed how many smart TVs in Europe have shipped with the TiVo OS in the early going, but the company is "absolutely encouraged by what we're seeing" amid its presence in markets such as the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, Kirchner said.

The company has previously stated plans to exit 2024 with 2 million TiVo-powered TVs in the European market, and to have 7 million of them in the market on a global basis by sometime in 2025.

"As these footprints grow, I think we'll have not only a better handle on where we need to make adjustments because there will be some," he said, noting later that the smart TV platform market in Europe is highly fragmented.

It won't get easier in the US, where Xperi/TiVo will be competing in a crowded market that includes Roku, Google, Amazon, Samsung, LG Electronics and Xumo, the Comcast-Charter national streaming joint venture, among others.

Pay-TV biz aided by IPTV, 'TiVo Broadband'

Turning to pay-TV, TiVo is still making progress with IPTV conversions and adoption of TiVo Broadband, a streaming platform that's tailored for broadband-only subscribers who don't take a traditional pay-TV package.

TiVo surpassed 2.25 million subs on its IPTV platform in Q2, putting it on pace to hit a year-end target of 2.4 million subscribers.

Kirchner noted that three TiVo pay-TV partners – Service Electric Cablevision, HTC and Eastlink – recently renewed IPTV agreements but also added the TiVo Broadband piece. Xperi has also signed on Midco, Bluepeak and Buckeye Broadband for the TiVo Broadband offering.

Pay-TV, Xperi's largest business, posted Q2 revenues of $60.75 million, up 5% year-over-year. Its IPTV business within the pay-TV category saw revenues jump 45% to $18.98 million. Xperi's "core" (legacy) pay-TV unit saw revenues decline 7% to $41.76 million.