TiVo has introduced a small product iteration to its TiVo Stream 4K connected TV device designed to help users find their perfect SVOD, AVOD and vMVPD matches.
“TiVo Match Score” is a new feature found in TiVo Stream, the interface that sits atop the Android TV operator tier software that powers the TiVo Stream 4K. As outlined in this TiVo blog posting, the feature lets users scroll through a thumbnail menu of every available streaming service, applying a 1-100 score based on how each services programming matches the users algorithmically determined taste.
Also read: TiVo Stream 4K Price Drops to $39
A late entry into the competitive race for OTT platform control, TiVo is betting on its software acumen. TiVo aims to take market share from incumbents Roku and Amazon by making its TiVo Stream platform a more intuitive device for navigating a paradigm in which the average user watches programming from at least seven different streaming services.
“Going forward, you’ll see us continue to invest heavily in this area,” TiVo says in its blog post. “TiVo is uniquely positioned to help you choose and optimize your streaming services. Unlike most competing platforms that may struggle with either the underlying technologies behind universal discovery (deep metadata and personalization), or with competing incentives to push their own content offering on you, TiVo’s only interest is in connecting you to the services and shows you’ll love the most.”
Also read: The Five Spot: Jon Kirchner, CEO, Xperi (Q&A)
The Tivo Stream interface is currently confined to the TiVo Stream 4K HDMI dongle, which debuted in April and is currently selling at Amazon and Walmart for $39. But TiVo has bigger plans for Stream, with new parent company Xperi looking for channels like smart TV, an industry in which it is already an established OEM partner.
Xperi executives recently told investors that smart TVs powered by TiVo Stream should hit shelves in the second half of 2021
