Apple and TiVo - I think not. But there is another :)

Michael Gartenberg | February 23, 2005, 05:05 PM

There's been a rumor floating around all day about Apple buying TiVo that seems to be centered around the wishful thinking of a wall street analyst. It does show the power of rumor as TiVo's stock seems up on the news. I think it's not likely. For someone to want TiVo, you need to want to buy the brand, the technology and perhaps the subscribers. Apple's not a big fan of TV consumption and is not likely to want to want to get into the standalone DVR business at this point. Even if they did, I suspect Apple could build the technology themselves cheaper (and even if you think they can't, I suspect they think they can.). The TiVo brand is also not Apple's style. Apple likes strong brands that aren't generic, like iPod. TiVo has come to serve as a generic term for DVR. Lastly, Apple isn't in the subscription business and if they were to get into that space, it would likely come to music first. I don't think there are a lot of buyers for TiVo at the moment and if there are, they probably will wait for them to lose some more money first and get them on the cheap. So who might be interested. Not Microsoft. I doubt the cable/satt companies would find allure there these days. There is one company that already has a relationship with TiVo (or had one at least) and could use the technology in some of their product lines. Someone that makes TV sets and other devices that connect to it and could be interested in the notion of the technology as a media hub. Someone that is also introducing a mobile device focused on entertainment in the near future. Anyone else think Sony might have more than a passing interest?