Windstream: TiVo a tough sell

Windstream has had trouble selling TiVo service since the rural carrier partnered with the digital video recorder (DVR) pioneer just over a year ago.

Though TiVo seemed like a good fit with the carrier’s broadband and Dish Networks video bundle, Windstream’s sales reps have been unsure about “when to pitch it,” Brent Whittington, Windstream’s chief financial officer, said at a UBS investor conference Tuesday. “The upfront price requirements and the ongoing monthly obligation have been an impediment to that product really being successful for us. People are very price-sensitive. You’re looking to potentially get a customer to buy broadband and pay the monthly recurring fee on that on top of TiVo’s monthly recurring fee, plus the equipment, generally with the modem.”

TiVo sets customers back just over $100 for the set-top box and $15 to $20 per month for the service, Whittington said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s an impediment for many consumers, trust me.”

The issue will come as no surprise to analysts who voiced concern over it a month before Windstream announced its TiVo partnership.

As of July, 25% percent of US homes had a DVR, according to Nielsen. But at the end of September, TiVo had only 3.5 million subscribers, and that number is declining as distributors such as DirecTV have begun steering customers more toward their own DVR offerings.

Comcast began offering TiVo late last year, and Cox began offering it earlier this year. Cablevision recently said it would deploy a network-based DVR next year.