TiVo undergoes major UX overhaul

AMSTERDAM - TiVo announced a major update for its user experience (UX) that is now more designed to integrate and unify content from pay-TV, OTT services and on-demand options.

The biggest new function in the UX is the addition of Predictions, TiVo’s time-based educated guesses on what viewers are most likely tuning to watch. The service provider still does recommendations as well but it’s careful to point out that Predictions are more than recommendations and more like time savers built from viewership data in order to save viewers the trouble of actually diving into the guide.

“The new UX brings the content the viewer wants right up front faster through expanded discovery and predictions from their own cable subscription and the best online video sources,” said Margret Schmidt, chief design officer at TiVo. “In short, we designed this UX so the viewer spends less time searching channel guides and opening apps and more time enjoying their favorite shows.”

The new UX also featured easily personalized shortcuts for services including Netflix and YouTube and unified results displaying availability of content platforms. When viewers choose to watch episodes from OTT services from within the TiVo guide, the service automatically launches directly into playback from the corresponding service without making consumers click through on redirects.

The update, which has been in the works for about two years and will roll out to TiVo subscribers soon, is purposely designed to boost integration.

“The most important we’ve done in the new TiVo UX is fully embrace a multi-provider world,” Paul Stathacopoulos, VP of strategy at TiVo, told FierceCable. He added that the update is the most extensive TiVo has done since its initial launch and it reflects how much viewing habits and options have evolved since TiVo launched 1999.

“Even the DVR function is somewhat transparent to the user so it creates a media-first experience for the consumer where it’s all about content,” Stathacopoulos said, adding that the new UX also delivers easier viewing continuity by automatically pulling episodes when they’re only available on different services (i.e. SVOD for previous seasons and on-demand for current).

The design shift for TiVo comes shortly after Rovi completed its acquisition of the company. Both companies will now be under the TiVo brand name and Rovi CEO Tom Carson will continue to serve as CEO of the newly combined company.

The deeper integration of pay-TV and OTT content from TiVo also comes as the company continues to add MSO subscribers while its retail business keeps slowing. In the most recent quarter, TiVo added another 239,000 cable subscribers and it lost 3,000 retail subscribers.

TiVo now serves a total of 7.4 million subscribers.

Related articles:
TiVo added 239,000 cable subs in the second quarter