Remember that Guru Guides feature TiVo inadvertently announced with their updated privacy policy? Well, TiVo just put out a release with the details. Because Guru Guides uses the same technology as KidZone, you won’t see this feature for another few months. Initially subscriptions will be handled via TiVo’s web site, though I expect we’ll ultimately see a HME registration app as with KidZone. Reading between the lines indicates GG has the potential to move beyond television show recommendations and into BrightCove distributed video as well.
TiVo today announced the upcoming launch of TiVo Guru Guide(TM) recommendations. TiVo’s newest feature will be available to subscribers in the coming weeks. It allows TiVo subscribers to discover exciting programming and automatically record great collections of shows, recommended by editorial experts at some of the nation’s top consumer magazines and news sources. Guru Guide(TM) recommendations will create a virtual television channel from each of these authorities, while leaving the ultimate selection and choice to the consumer.
Gurus from Entertainment Weekly, Star, Sports Illustrated, Automobile, Billboard, CNET and others will offer TiVo subscribers program recommendations based on popular television categories including sports, films, music, comedies, drama and more. As an added benefit, TiVo subscribers will be able to automatically record Guru Guide recommendations via the company’s online scheduling feature.
“TiVo is the proven brand for innovation and personalized home entertainment, making it the perfect partner to bring Star magazine to life on television,” said Bonnie Fuller, Chief Editorial Director and Executive Vice President of American Media which owns Star magazine. “Making Star’s editorial experts available to TiVo subscribers is a unique, cutting-edge way for us to reinforce our brand awareness beyond print into a powerful electronic medium.”For TiVo, Guru Guide recommendations are the latest in a series of innovative offerings like recently announced TiVo KidZone(TM) and TiVo Mobile(TM), and is designed to distinguish TiVo’s product and service from any other DVR in the marketplace. These exclusive features fulfill TiVo’s goal of providing television viewers with access to the very best TV programming in key content areas.
“Providing our users with a better, smarter way to enjoy their favorite television is at the core of what we do at TiVo and how we transform television viewing for consumers,” said Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo.
Added Tara Maitra, vice president and general manager, Programming for TiVo, “By matching up TiVo technology with engaging Guru Guide recommendations from trusted sources, we are empowering TiVo subscribers with a brand new way to find, organize and view their favorite shows in an increasingly crowded television environment.”
Each TiVo Guru Guide(TM) recommendation will offer between five and ten programs of television per week and recommendations will be updated at least once per month to ensure that viewers always receive the freshest and most interesting content on television. Using TiVo’s online scheduling feature, subscribers will have the option of recording an entire TiVo Guru Guide selection, or they can pick individual programs from a given category based on their personal interests.
“Music programming on television and the integration of music into shows has come a long way,” said Scott McKenzie, group editorial director, Billboard Magazine. “Our recommendations are an eclectic assortment of programs aimed at enhancing the music discovery experience. Through Billboard’s Guru Guide recommendations, TiVo subscribers will enjoy some of the freshest new shows out there.”
“With so much sport-related content on television today, it’s easy to overlook some really great shows,” said Paul Fichtenbaum, managing editor of SI.com, Sports Illustrated’s Web site. “Sports Illustrated’s Guru Guide will provide viewers with recommendations compiled by our editorial team which will feature an interesting mix of television programming-everything from the best match-ups of the week, to the history of rugby, to the impact of exercise on childhood obesity.”
TiVo Guru Guide recommendations help viewers find engaging programming in popular content areas such as sports, music, TV, movies, beauty and fashion, technology, and urban culture. Other key partners to offer the very first TiVo Guru Guide recommendations include CNET, Automobile Magazine, and H20 (Hip Hop On Demand.)
As part of the TiVo commitment to continually update and enhance the service, additional TiVo Guru Guides(TM) categories will become available to subscribers throughout the year at no additional cost to the subscriber. To learn more, visit www.tivo.com/guruguides.
Hey, I noticed in the Click Showcase that there was a feature similar to Guru Guides. Is this the same, or different stuff?
Good catch! This doesn’t look exactly like the formal Guru Guides themselves, though the technology and function seem similar — perhaps this is a test of the “Record Subscription” feature (presumably used by both KidZone and Guru Guides) which is mentioned on the info screen.
For those that haven’t checked: Under the Click trailer Showcase, there are two options to record groups of shows. The first one is pre-populated with several FOX season finales, while the second says it will record many 2006 finales and can be managed through a Season Pass (which hasn’t shown up on my box yet).