We knew ordering via Unbox would come soon, and it is here today.
I’ve looked at this from a couple of directions and I see a modest revenue contribution to TiVo from the Unbox orders. Assuming TiVo gets 10% of revenue, I figure in the beginning TiVo is due for revenues in the 10’s of thousands per month.
There are several points of resistance to Unbox as it stands. 1) Video & audio quality: less than DVD and stereo only. 2) Price – interest really kicks in with 99 cent rentals. 3) Viewing can only start after download completes.
As TiVo’s broadband connected units grow – even in spite of an end to growth in total SA units next year – I expect its Unbox revenues to grow. Also, business will pop when HD/anamorphic/DD5.1 content becomes available. I’m sure there will be a little extra business from tire kickers this week too. Eliminating the delay in viewing the rental/purchase would allow for more spontaneous use.
It is going to take several quarters before Unbox revenue makes a noticeable contribution to the company’s revenues.
 References:
AccuStream Research: Streaming Subscription and Download Media Forecast at $2.6 Bil. in ’07
Download movies, forecast at $60 million in 2007, is up 133.4% over 2006, and on track to break the $100 million threshold in 2008.
Movie revenue growth has been hampered by limited availability of both front line titles and catalog depth
IPTV Will Take Off, Says Study
Netflix: 5M Online Views in Six Months
Netflix Instant Watching Feature Scores 5 Million Viewings in First 6 Months – Press Release
TiVo Eliminates PC from Movie-Download Equation
Neither Andrew Pray, a TiVo spokesman, nor Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, would say how many customers used the service.
July 10, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Houston, we have a problem.
The Unbox HME, which can charge your account for your transactions, can’t see what’s in your Library, so it generously offers to sell you again what you already own.
Frankly the HME needs a separate My Library function.
July 11, 2007 at 10:09 am
Some suggestions for the Unbox HME app:
1. Use My Library data to avoid duplicate purchases.
2. Have a My Library selection to easily access owned content.
3. Link into a search mechanism – either amazon or swivel.
July 12, 2007 at 12:13 am
[...] the news (on PVR Blog or Zatz Not Funny or Engadget or TiVo Lovers or the Unofficial TiVo Blog or HDTiVo’s blog), we rolled out a new feature this week for broadband-enabled Series2 and Series3 DVRs. Now you can [...]