Sony takes stake in TiVo

Personal video recorder manufacturer TiVo Wednesday received an undisclosed minority investment from Sony, with a manufacturing agreement that will be expanded to include Sony content and games, said Mike Ramsay, TiVo's president and chief executive.

Under the agreement, Sony will manufacture and market TiVo digital video recorders and provide games, music, movies and television programming to the TiVo service via a specialised Sony gateway.

Sony is the latest in a string of high-profile investments and content deals that include CBS, Comcast, NBC, Showtime, Walt Disney and Liberty Media. TiVo is a service that allows consumers to time-shift programming. The TiVo box features a hard drive that is constantly recording whatever consumers are watching on TV. In addition, consumers can set the TiVo service to instantly record specific programming, much like a video cassette recorder.

Sony chairman and CEO Howard Stringer said the company's investment is one piece of its expanding development of next-generation devices. "As a company that bestrides the worlds of both electronics and entertainment, Sony is delighted to join in combining personal television with cutting-edge entertainment options for home viewers," Stringer said in a statement. "This relationship with TiVo illustrates Sony's overall strategy to continue its leadership in the development of next-generation entertainment devices. In the coming years, we expect that the PVR will personalise television viewing, offering the consumer more choice in content, services and viewing time."