TiVo, the beloved American set-top box which, allows users to record live TV to watch later has finally come to Canada. Cogeco Cable, the Canadian cable company responsible for the launch, has initiated sales in Ontario this month. Cogeco will release TiVo in its second base of Quebec, next year in spring.
Adding TiVo to its operations, Cogeco will be the first cable company to bring Netflix in its set-top boxes. Customers will enjoy the facilities of live TV, as well as recorded. They can also access on demand and other content like Netflix.
“Cogeco TiVo Service will be a game-changer in the cable market in Canada,” The CEO of Cogeco, Louise St-Pierre, said. “We have worked closely with TiVo to develop a platform that is customized for Canadian viewers, and we are proud to bring it to market.”.
For those customers who want TiVo, they will have to pay $20 for a first DVR, in the first month and a cost of $7 for additional TV’s. Subscription to Internet packages and Cogeco TV programming will also be available.
Cogeco has attempted to work on its own system, but abandoned the attempt in favour of a $32 million deal, and decided to offer TiVo as a more lucrative option. Other Canadian cable companies have also been devising similar systems as demand is shifting from cable to online viewing and portable devices.
Two of Canada’s largest cable companies, Shaw and Rogers, collaborated to create Shomi a Netflix-like competitor. In the past year they have collectively, lost around 200,000 subscribers.
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