Categories: TiVo

TiVo’s New Pricing Plans

The big news out of today’s conference call is the implementation of the long rumored pricing structure modifications. As expected, TiVo has dropped the upfront hardware fee and is charging for service only. Additionally, resellers such as new partner Radio Shack can handle service orders. The caveats? Monthly fees have gone up and Lifetime service has been mothballed.

So here’s the deal… an 80 hour TiVo will be bundled with these payment plans starting next week:

  • The price for a TiVo box and a one-year service commitment is $19.95 a
    month or $224 prepaid
  • The price for a TiVo box and a two-year service commitment is $18.95 a
    month or $369 prepaid
  • The price for a TiVo box and a three-year service commitment is $16.95 a
    month or $469 prepaid

It’s still early and I’m sure more information will trickle out over the next week or so as TiVo documents this transition. My initial questions…

  • What is the monthly cost to reactivate a box or to activate a used box?
  • Do multi-unit discounts apply to new boxes?
  • Will the 80 hour TiVo unit be the only model available at this time?
  • If other models are available, what costs and service plans do they have?
  • Will the hardware warranty be extended to cover the service agreement or will there be an insurance option?

I did think the current pricing model and rebate runaround needed to be tweaked, but this is not what I had expected or would have suggested. I’ll let the announcement soak in and get some questions answered before passing judgment. Then again, I’m not the one who will be passing final judgment anyway — the market will decide.

View Comments

  • It seems pretty clear that the "service only" plans will remain but I'd suspect they will go up in price at least a buck. As for the multi service discount I don't think they will take that away from people who already have it, it probably would also be unpopular to remove it as an option (it's sold a lot of 2nd TiVos)

  • Also, I did a date search on the press release and I still don't know any more specifically than "next week" when Product Lifetime will no longer be available. Doe they mean Sunday 3/12 or Monday 3/13, or one week from the press release (Wesnesday 3/15) or at the end of the week?

    C'mon TiVo if your going to give us a really short notice on something cant you at least be specific?

  • On the TCF, Stephen and Pony are fielding questions. The threads are moving quickly and I'm trying to keep up while in class.

    It appears these new pricing options are in addition to the current pricing options, with the exception of them dropping Lifetime and multi-unit discounts going forward. That answers several of my questions. Though it raises a new one? once the $150 rebate expires shortly, will it be renewed with something similar or will we be pushed towards these new pricing options? I wonder if the various plans (new and old) will be confusing to potential customers and if it will impact their purchasing decision versus say a cable company DVR which has just one low monthly fee.

    It sounds like next Wednesday is the drop dead date for multi-unit discounts and Lifetime subscriptions. So if you want to get in, the time is now.

Published by
Dave Zatz
March 8, 2006