TiVo Earns It

If TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) is going places, why does it always seem to be standing still?

Last night's quarterly report for the DVR dynamo was a mixed bag. Service and technology revenue fell by 5.6% to $54.9 million, but TiVo's $0.04-a-share profit is a new record, clocking in well ahead of the penny-per-share loss that Mr. Market was betting on. The company closed out Q1 with 1.7 million TiVo-owned subscribers, identical with its TiVo-owned count a year ago, but at least the mere $116 in subscriber acquisition costs is the company's lowest such figure in three years.

As a shareholder and longtime TiVo subscriber, I'm torn. The company is certainly doing some pretty cool things with its digital video recorder boxes and patent-rich portfolio. Last year, the company launched several bold moves, like teaming up with Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) to deliver Unbox video downloads and rentals directly into TiVo, or licensing its killer-app DVR software through cable providers like Cox and Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA).

Just this week alone, TiVo announced deals to start delivering Disney (NYSE: DIS) flicks and Chicago Tribune TV critic recommendations directly to TiVo subscribers. This is just more gravy on top of deals struck earlier this year, which will deliver Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) YouTube clips and RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK) music into the DVR pioneer's appliance

I get the buzz behind all of this, but why am I staring at the same 1.7 million TiVo-owned subscribers the company had a year ago -- down slightly from its subscriber count just three months earlier? I understand that the 2.1 million other TiVo box owners, primarily legacy users from DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV) before the satellite television beamer decided to make its own DVRs, will continue to dwindle. I just don't get why TiVo-owned subscribers keep bolting at roughly the same rate that they're arriving.

Last night's profit is good. The current quarter won't be quite so rosy -- the company projects a small loss, but still expects a profit on an adjusted EBITDA basis -- but I'll take it.

I just keep waiting for TiVo to become a growth company again. A laundry list of cool features and media partners isn't doing the trick.

I've seen TiVo do so many things -- and log so many intellectual-capital miles -- but at the end of the day, the company still has to stop running in circles.