TiVo lifetime plan still available ... for now
By Marc Perton 
posted Mar 10th 2006 2:06PM
posted Mar 10th 2006 2:06PM
As you no doubt know, TiVo announced a new
subscription-based pricing plan earlier this week, and as part of the announcement, discontinued the $299 Product
Lifetime pricing plan, declaring that it "was too far in favor of good value to make sense for us
financially." However, as TiVo's Stephen Mack has now explained, the subscription plans apply only to
TiVo boxes purchased from tivo.com. If you buy from a retailer, you purchase what the company now calls
"service-only pricing." Why does that matter? Well, as of now, you can still buy a TiVo Series 2 box without
a service plan for as little as $39 (after a service-plan rebate). Then, when you go online to sign up for service-only
pricing, you can still sign up for the Product Lifetime plan for $299. Total cost: $338 (after rebate), which
covers you for the lifetime of your TiVo box. Keep the box for 10 years (if you can pull it off -- and don't mind not
having HD support), and that's all you'll pay. Compare that to the new pricing plan, which lets you prepay for a
three-year plan for $469, and it sounds like a pretty sweet deal, even if you only keep your TiVo box for a couple of
years. But act quickly: word is that the Product Lifetime plan will vanish by next Wednesday. (Oh, and if you already
have a TiVo box -- and plan on keeping it for a while -- you can still upgrade to the lifetime plan, but only until
Wednesday, so you'd better make up your mind fast!)
So you better grab it while it lasts!
I'd still honestly build a custom box for what the Tivo does. There are SOOOOO many other DVR solutions and the Tivo thing is going stale more and more as the days go on. Eh.
Tivo will become some sort of 3rd party service sooner or later anyways. This may be the start of something else going on in the marketing end of the Tivo brand name. Some company is probably in back room negotiation, and this is part of the agreement to keep the burden on the company interesting buying them down on subscription lawsuits or demands from customers who DO buy the 299 deal.
There is something more going on here, than it "being a wise business choice".
Is Tivo looking to be purchased? Let the rumor mill grind on.
John
This is a huge mistake by Tivo. I'm a Tivo user and love it. However, there is no way I am paying $15-$20 a month just to USE a Tivo. I'll use another DVR or HTPC before I pay these monthly amounts.
Everyone always talks about how it's inevitable that other companies will beat the Tivo. Just like for the last five years other companies have been beating the iPod.
what is the point? i can get an HD-DVR from my cable comnpany for $10 extra a month. no service charges and if the equipment craps out, i turn it in and get a new one.
Wait a second, am I missing something or is this a typo or trick not explained?
"you can still buy a TiVo Series 2 box without a service plan for as little as $39 (after a service-plan rebate)."
How does one buy something without a service plan, yet still get a service-plan rebate?
If this is the case, I will never buy another Tivo again (I have 6 Tivos across families .. all lifetime). I refuse to pay a monthly service fee (above $2.99) just for simple listing data.
Which is why I went to the store on Wesnesday night to pick up a second TiVo and get in on the Lifetime while I still could.
Our first TiVo is now 3 years old, we got the lifetime on it back when it was only $249, that decision paid for itself more than a year ago.
At the current monthly price of $12.99/mo the lifetime plan pays for itself in just about 2 years.
Of course the risk is that your TiVo dies between the warranty expiration (1 year?) and the time the lifetime unit is paid off. Of course the most likely failure is a dead hard drive and those are easy enough to replace, and usually result in a capacity upgrade while your'e at it.
I'd like to throw in a shameless plea, if you go out and buy a TiVo & activate it, unless you already know someone in the TiVo rewards program if you could use my e-mail address (robert@aitchison.org) as the referrer that would be sweet. FYI the TiVo rewards program awards you points for every new TiVo activation that lists you as a referrer. You can cash in those points for stuff including replacement remotes, a complete TiVo unit and more.
I used Time Warner cable's DVR service (basically tivo in a dtv tuner) and it costs 17 bucks a month added to my regular cable bill. So I can imagine how pissed off you guys are
Just get a dvr from you cable or sat provider. It's only $5 per month for my direct tv tivo.
to Robert Aitchinson... if you already have one tivo on the lifetime plan, your second tivo should only be approx $6/month... not $12. A lifetime is only worth it if you want the second tivo for 4+ years. (i have 2 tivos as well, the first one i got a lifetime subscription from 3 years ago)
If I were TiVo I'd explore a 50% rent to purchase plan for service.
1) Price separate parts of the TiVo service so that they could be sold, "Lifetime Box Support" e.g. $300/Tivo scheduling, $50/HMO, etc.
2)Sell each box with a 1 year support contract and option for committing for more at a lower rate. -- This could be applied to a Lifetime contract.
3) Apply 50% of any of the monthly support paid to be applicable to a Lifetime contract at any time.
That way, the box that walked out the door would be sold at Box Price + 1 year contract, and if the purchaser wanted to sign up for a longer contract or convert to a Lifetime contact he could do it. Also there would be the ability to convert some of the rental into a Lifetime purchase later.
In the TiVoCommunity forums, a TiVo official explained that you would still be able to "go into a Best Buy a month from now", buy a box and get the $12.99 monthly subscription. Now, he made no mention of the lifetime subscription and I'm not sure if he literally meant that you have about a month to do it, but it sounds as if the $12.99 plan will stick around for a while.
While not as nice as the lifetime plan, it's much better than $19.99 a month just to save some upfront cash.
By the way, I'm a huge TiVo fan (2 boxes and it's just me in the house) and even I am thinking I may have bought my last TiVo. $20 is too much.
To me, it seems like Tivo is pricing their service higher so they can resell their software and not really compete with the Cable/hardware company.
Cable/hardware companies may be apprehensive to use Tivo software if Tivo continues to sell a competitively priced 3rd party product/service. So Tivo increases the price. They still can get diehard people that ONLY want a Tivo box... and they don't alienate future relationships with Cable companies.
This is sort of like how some manufacturers will sell direct but at their MSRP. They then let their resellers sell at discount. Rough analogy.
Just a thought.
DQ
DISCLAIMER: None of the above may make any sense.
I wonder how much the arrival of the Series 3 later this year(hopefully) or early next year is influencing Tivo's decision to change pricing plans? I know service companies(which is what Tivo really is) like to have more take it to the bank, scheduled monthly income, but the high cost of a Series 3 recorder, especially when its first released has to be on their minds. From the tech specs I've seen I would guess that it will retail between $500 and $750. I won't be surprised if its even higher. Thats a huge increase over the current price of the higher capacity units. Tivo is worried about loosing customers and potential customers to cable companies and DirecTV's DVRs. Requiring customers to drop half a grand(before any possible rebates) isn't going to help them get new subscribers. Tivo really is trying to model itself after the cellular phone providers, but their subsidized hardware will cost more than all but the most expensive smart phones and their monthly fee is half of what most cell phone companies charge(~$20 vs at least $40) not to mention fewer subscribers to spread costs over. Tivo does have several things going for it: name recognition, a better UI and software, and more features(I love TivoToGo and over the Internet scheduling) compared to cable company DVRs. I know Tivo execs say they dont want to be bought out, but the ideal solution would be for Cisco to purchase them and combine them with Scientific Atlanta. Then youd have a big company with deep pockets to spend on R & D and marketing, who has creditability with the cable companies, and a bigger market share.
I've had TiVos since Series 1 and have personally turned on at least 2 other families to the devices, but I'm done touting their service.
Who's ever had a TiVo that's stayed working long enough to make $299 worth it over the $12.95 monthly fee? I'm on my 4th TiVo in 5 years. I don't abuse my stuff, they get good ventilation... They still suck. My first Series 1 was DOA. My second Series 1 died after about 9 months. Audio came through, but no video. I upgraded to a Series 2, which lasted nearly 2 years before a HD failure. I'm now on #4.
Add the company's lack of Mac support, plus its new cozy relationship with the PTC and count me out. When TiVo #4 dies (probably sometime later this year or early next, if history is any indication as to what I can expect), I'll be going with my cable company's DVR.
Not elegant. Not as easy to use... But frak TiVo. They've been raping me since 2001. It's time for some action elsewhere.
I'm glad you published this; it made me consider my options for my aging TiVo and the likelyhood that I'll continue to use it (or another model) for many more years. Interestingly enough, while researching whether or not it was worth it to purchase the lifetime bit from TiVo, their sales folks mentioned via telephone today that it's actually Monday, not Wednesday, when the lifetime option will no longer be available. Makes for a thoughtful weekend, eh?
I can't believe that so many people love TV enough to want it in their homes at all. When ever people find out that I am without an idiot-box, I find one delivered to my door. I have to find a charity to give it to. I hope that no one ever gives me a TIVO, I'd have to rip the IDE hard disk from the chassis and dump the rest in a recycle bin. Subscribe? Kidding, right?
Cheers.
R13
Tivo terminated "Direct" lifetime activations on their site and their toll-free number today (Monday 3/13 11AM).
You can still go to a store (Best Buy etc) and buy your own box and then get online (or call the toll-free number) and activate the lifetime service. This however can only be done till the 15th ie till Wednesday (3/15 11AM). After that you will be able to activate only the 12.95/month service. Got this scoop from TiVO customer service.
I just hooked tivo up on the 19th of March.I purchased it for 29 dollars with rebates from Comp usa. Everyone i know raves about it.So far i have been told the lifetime subscription no longer exists and that i can only watch what i record.Hopefully thats not all true and i can figure out a way to use a splitter or an a/b switch to rectify the situation. I think if i had known about the lifetime sub. not being available i may not have puchased this product so quickly.. Anyway time will tell
I heard about the change but was able to get a new Tivo Series 2 80-hour for $80, so when it came time to activate spending $299 was no big deal. My old one was monthly and is getting old so I did not want to take a chance on it dying.
I will keep my lifetime one for the regular set and when HD makes it to my living room I expect I will have a dish with DVR.
Bummer about the tivo lifetime subscription. I've got two tivo's going strong---one's about three years old, the other is 6 months old.
I agree with everyone who says they'd just purchase from the cable guys. Without the lifetime deal, it's pretty expensive to go month to month with tivo.
And, I love the product, so this is pretty bad on their part.