The full history of TiVo, and how it changed TV forever
For a while, it seemed like everyone owned a TiVo. It was a plot point on major television shows; there were A-list Hollywood fans; it has become a verb as ubiquitous as Google or Xerox. This love was well deserved, as TiVo had created a product that truly felt like magic. You could pause live TV. And rewind it. And even schedule shows to record for later, knowing they’ll be there when you need them.
There’s a reason you definitely don’t have a TiVo now, though. The company quickly became a victim of its own success and never managed to turn its revolutionary concept into a major business or truly lasting successful product. Meanwhile, the changes it helped bring about in our consumption habits have finally left TiVo behind. We all live in the world TiVo imagines, but we do it mostly without TiVo.
On this episode of Version historyIn the final episode of our second season, we trace the story of TiVo, from smart startup to Hollywood darling to licensing machine. David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and author and journalist Emily Nussbaum discuss what made TiVo so special back then, how it changed both the shows we watch and how we watch them, and what happened when TiVo technology became essentially ubiquitous. Turns out we all miss our TiVos, but we probably won’t get another one anytime soon.
Since it’s the end of our season, we’re taking a few weeks off to prepare for the next set of episodes. If you want to make sure you receive each new episode as soon as it comes out, there are ways to subscribe to Version history:
If you want to learn more about the history of TiVo and how it changed our TV viewing habits, here are some links to get you started:
