tell me what you think... I like TIVO since more boxes will be needed TiVo Shares Rise on Amazon Partnership Wednesday February 7, 12:04 pm ET TiVo Shares Rise on Deal With Amazon.com to Send Video From Web to Living Room TV NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of TiVo Inc. rose Wednesday on news that the digital video recording service is joining forces with Amazon.com Inc. to offer a TV and movie download service that sends video from the Internet right to customers' set-top boxes. TiVo shares leapt ahead 36 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $5.84 on the Nasdaq in midday trading. The companies said a test version of the new service, Amazon Unbox on TiVo, will be available today to a limited number of customers. The full service, which will work with the 1.5 million TiVo digital recorders with broadband Internet capability currently in homes, is expected to launch later this year. Amazon.com and TiVo said they will sell TV episodes for $1.99 each, and charge between $9.99 and $14.99 for movie purchases. Customers can rent movies, too, starting at $1.99. The deal "represents a growing move by content owners and aggregators to embrace the TiVo platform," wrote Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst Brian Coyne in a note to investors, "making TiVo a more attractive partner or potential acquisition target." Coyne added that Amazon.com's PC-based Unbox service suffered under strict license agreements, and that the TiVo partnership may finally be a way for consumers to finally use the Internet to bring video to devices other than the computer or Apple Inc.'s iPod digital media player. Citigroup analyst Tony Wible wrote in a client note that "while the partnership with Amazon.com helps overcome some of the technical limitations for downloading, we still have legal and economic issues that may limit content availability and prevent downloads in the near term from becoming mainstream." However, he wrote that the new feature could still increase sales of the TiVo box. Amazon.com's stock rose $1.16, or 3 percent, to $39.43 on the Nasdaq. The new service will compete for a place in the digital living room with computers running Microsoft Corp.'s Media Center and Vista versions of Windows, as well as Apple's new Apple TV set-top box. Shares of Microsoft edged down 8 cents to $29.43, while Apple's stock rose 84 cents to $84.99, both on the Nasdaq.
One Analyst likes it.... The $11 price target makes this a 100% gain......that's really putting himself out there. Ahead of the Bell: Tivo, Amazon.com Thursday February 8, 7:17 am ET Citigroup Analyst Says Tivo Poised to Gain From Amazon.com Partnership NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup analyst Tony Wible said Tivo Inc.'s decision to team up with Amazon.com Inc. to send video from the Internet straight to customers' set-top boxes is encouraging, and may be a "major game changer" for the digital video recording service provider. "While we do not expect a direct meaningful impact from the service near-term, it could boost stand-alone sales in the second half of 2007," Wible wrote in a client note. "This deal is significant as it is one of the first viable solutions that allows consumers to view downloaded content on TVs without the need for a media center PC, which is one of the major issues hindering widespread movie downloading adoption." The full service will work with the 1.5 million TiVo digital recorders with broadband Internet capability already in homes and is expected to launch later this year. Wible said that while details of the product are still limited, he believes it may be "a major game changer" for Tivo and movie download services by providing an economical way for consumers to get PC content to the living room. "It supports our thesis that DVRs will play a key role in the integration of the consumer's living room," said Wible, who maintained a "Buy" rating on the shares and $11 price target. Shares of Tivo gained 49 cents, or 9 percent, to end at $5.97 Wednesday, and Amazon.com rose 71 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $38.98.