TiVo taps Opsware for expansion-plan help

TiVo's plans to expand its service are getting a boost thanks to a new contract the digital video recorder company just signed with automation-software company Opsware. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but the agreement includes use of Opsware's Server Automation System (SAS) and Network Automation System (NAS) for TiVo's front and backend operations. Opsware's other marquee customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Nortel, Wells Fargo Bank, EDS, and JP Morgan.

Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo, whose DVR service lets users pause live TV and save massive amounts of programming, could use the help. The company's most recent financial statements were positive but showed its fee-based TV recording service falling to 254,000 subscribers from 288,000 in the same quarter one year ago. The company is now looking for additional partnerships to make up for the eventual loss of DirecTV, which said it plans to cease marketing TiVo's product.