aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
TiVo and Cisco
In my department at work there can be a question as to where I fit. I consider myself a media guy but my training and a big chunk of my experience was in television production; the place I think I belong and where I want to be is on the computer side.
I’m not plugged in to it now, but back in the day I noticed that the video people considered themselves video people but the computer people were much more fluid. My take was that the video people should get with the program because the computer people are taking over the world.
All of which is context for my take on the rumor that Cisco might by TiVo:
According to a source familiar with Cisco and TiVo, there’s a “potential for an interesting partnership” to emerge between the two companies. TiVo, the source said, has held discussions with many potential partners.
There’s no indication that Cisco is looking to buy TiVo, and details regarding a potential partnership are scant. But Cisco’s recent acquisitions do suggest how serious the company is about becoming a major presence in the living room, and TiVo carries weight as a well-known consumer DVR brand. At the same time, Cisco could help TiVo regain the distribution clout it lost when satellite TV provider DirecTV said it was walking away from a longtime partnership with TiVo.
Representatives from both Cisco and TiVo said they would not comment on rumors.
If I’m not a computer guy you’ve got to know I’m definitely not a networking guy, but I am crazy about this idea. The association of TiVo with networking rather than content is great. It’s the consumerization of networking!
Yes, they should buy Sling Media too and next up, how about an IP enabled stereo system? I don’t want to put holes in my wall for speaker wires…
