Q&A: Charles Dawes, TiVo

TiVo’s senior director of international marketing, Charles Dawes, discusses Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo, the benefits that it will bring, and some of the key trends that will shape the industry in the coming year.

What does Rovi’s acquisition of and change of name to TiVo mean for the company?

We first announced the acquisition back in April and it’s great to have closed just before IBC and adopt the TiVo name. It’s very exciting to take two visionary companies in the media and entertainment space that have complementary products and services and form a new global leader who will power consumer relationships and transform the value of audience relationships.

What benefits will the change bring to your customer base and what will be the next major areas of focus?

We provide guidance solutions to more than 25 million households, serving more than 500 pay TV operators — including some of the biggest names in pay TV — and have technologies that span more than 70 countries. Additionally, we’re servicing many of the other sectors in media and entertainment from music to retail to over the top (OTT). By combining TiVo’s history of innovation in cloud-based DVR functionality with Rovi’s signature capabilities in guides, personalisation, advertising, analytics and cloud services, we’re producing the next generation of technologies and products for our customers that meets today’s insatiable demand for media and entertainment from consumers.

What do you think the key trends in video for the coming year will be?

We’ve just released the results from our annual global consumer survey, which drew some interesting findings on consumer preferences and satisfaction when it comes to their entertainment lifestyle. The key finding this year was that consumers continue to find it challenging to locate their favourite shows. So much so that a new trend in ‘show dumping’ is appearing. We found 37% of global viewers have stopped watching a show they previously enjoyed because it became too difficult to access the content. The shows most cited as ones which respondents had stopped watching generally require a premium pay TV package, are only available through paid OTT and/or are unavailable on OTT services that aggregate content.

We also found having enhanced search and recommendations pays off. Consumers most satisfied with their search function watch almost seven hours of content per day, 21% more than the US reported average of 5.6 hours. Consumers most satisfied with their recommendation function watch 7.5 hours of content per day, a massive 34% more than the US reported average of 5.6 hours.

Additionally, our survey revealed that cord shaving continues to be more prevalent than cord cutting as consumers look to downgrade and supplement to get the content they want delivered the way they want it.

What are your other major highlights at IBC?

In addition to the close of the TiVo acquisition, we’re also introducing the newest generation of our iconic TiVo interface. The new UX is centered around bringing the user’s content from an increasingly diverse array of sources to them quicker and easier than ever, predicting what users might be interested in viewing, and presenting a choice of shows based on such things as time of day, past viewing choices, and the device they are using. The visually rich interface also builds on TiVo’s world-class usability, ensuring the viewer is always close to what they are looking for across content sources, and provides customisable shortcuts for functions on the main menu to give users faster access to their entertainment – not just traditional TV and movies, but also music and short-form videos. This seamless experience of content consumption from many sources redefines “traditional TV” and allows every device to become a primary screen for video consumption.

We’re also showcasing our conversation services and have announced a new partnership with Ruwido, a leading provider of input and interaction devices, to integrate our advanced search, recommendation and conversation services into their customer solutions. This partnership reinforces our joint aim of making content discovery simple and seamless.

What else will the acquisition and the creation of the new TiVo mean for the industry?

It’s very exciting to be able to offer visitors to IBC the opportunity to be the first people to experience the new TiVo. By taking the combined set of products and licensable innovations we are able to help our customers and partners across the media and entertainment ecosystem build the ultimate entertainment discovery solutions. Whether they are binge watchers, music lovers or just entertainment fanatics our continuous innovations enable consumers to navigate the ‘content chaos’ and enjoy the content they love, when and where they want it.

To experience the new TiVo, stop by our IBC booths in Hall 14, Stand G01 and Hall 5, Stand A31. For those not attending IBC this year, they can explore the next generation of entertainment at tivo.com, forward.tivo.com or follow us on Twitter @tivo or @tivoforbusiness.