TiVo,YouTube Team Up to Deliver Web Content to TV

Digital video recorder maker TiVo Inc. announced on Wednesday, that its customers would soon be able to watch YouTube videos on their televisions via its digital video recorders (DVRs), a fastest way to get the stuff one can’t wait to see.

To launch the service, Alviso, California-headquartered TiVo has joined hands with online video service YouTube that will deliver Web video directly to users’ televisions.

The latest move by YouTube, the video-sharing subsidiary of Mountain View-based Google, would likely broaden its reach globally.

“TiVo’s strategy is to bridge the gap between Web video and television and make as much content available as possible for our subscribers,” said Tara Maitra, the Vice President and General Manager for content services at TiVo.

“We're delighted to be working with the world's leading online video community so that TiVo subscribers can access YouTube's popular content on the TV via the TiVo DVR. Being able to make available YouTube videos to the TiVo subscriber base using one device, one remote and one user interface is another major step in our commitment to combine all of your television and web video viewing options in one easy to use service,” Maitra continued.

The service will be available later this year to users with a broadband Internet connection and a TiVo Series3 box, which includes the high-definition model.

Once the service is launched, users will be able to search, browse and watch YouTube videos directly on their TV sets through their broadband connected TiVo DVRs. They will also be able to log onto their YouTube accounts directly from their TiVo boxes.

According to the latest data by Nielsen Online, each month, 66 million viewers watch about 2.6 billion videos on popular free video sharing website YouTube, That accounts for about 57% of the 116.7 million monthly online video audience, the data shows.

As per a Harris Poll conducted in December, 65% of adults in the United States who were online had watched a video on YouTube, compared with 42% the previous year, and among people 18 to 24, 85% watched something on YouTube, compared with 73% the year before.

Founded in February 2005 by three former employees of PayPal, YouTube is a popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. It uses the Adobe Flash technology to display video, and is owned by Google Inc., which paid $1.76 billion for the company in November 2006.

Several companies are making immense efforts to merge the online viewing experience with the living-room big screen, but so far no one succeeded in taking control of the market.

Apple Inc. unveiled a new version of Apple TV with similar features in January. Now, with the YouTube deal, TiVo becomes the latest entrant into the marketplace for porting online video content to television.