TiVo in Spain

[beijingtaco]

Hi, as you all will notice, I am the FNG here.

I do not own a TiVo, although I wish I did, and I plan to own a set as soon as I move out of my dorm room.

The deal here is I am working on a project at school that requires me to present an entry strategy for TiVo to expand into Spain.

I have done my share of researching online for Spain's economic conditions for an FDI entry to produce the product locally or consider an export/import entry. I have noticed that Madrid especially has good conditions for R&D and a strong intelligent workforce to produce the product.

However, without consulting the experts and users on this forum, I do not believe I will have well informed results.

I wish to consult the people on this forum for any input they have had in the European, or more specifically, the Spanish market for DVR appliances. Do any users that have spent time in Spain or any expats who are still in Spain as of right now think TiVo will be well received culturally? What are some of your experiences, if any, of using TiVo in Spain?

I have read a few threads regarding the difficulties of hooking up TiVo because of the phone number you have to dial. Are there ways of getting around this problem?

And finally, feel free to bash my thread as much as you want because I value any input, negative or positive, because I want to make my report as realistic and feasible as possible!

Thanks a lot for your time!

Aaron

[scandia101]

I have read a few threads regarding the difficulties of hooking up TiVo because of the phone number you have to dial. Are there ways of getting around this problem?


There is no phone number that you have to dial.

[stevel]

If TiVo entered the Spain market, it would necessarily be with a model that is different, in at least minor ways, from US models. The current US models do not require a phone line if there is Internet access available. But in the past TiVo, through partners, has offered models that don't require even Internet access, relying instead on guide data that is broadcast by local stations. I don't know what portion of Spanish households have broadband Internet access, but clearly TiVo (or its local partner) would take that into account.

One could make an argument that ten years ago, the TV-watching culture in the US would not support DVRs, and for a long time it didn't. But DVRs have caught on and become part of the culture, so you need to think about, not just what things are like now, but how they might be like later. That is, assuming that TiVo and its partners are willing to wait for the business to grow.

How common are VCRs in Spain? How many channels does a typical household receive? What is the mix of signal providers? (broadcast, cable, satellite, etc.)

To date, TiVo has not had great success introducing its products into other countries. The UK market didn't materialize, or wasn't given time to. Australia is new this year (and not yet started I think.) To be successful, there needs to be a strong local partner willing to promote the product.

[classicsat]

I have been thinking of this.

You would need to consider and do several things:


Consider that a European wide TiVo project is in order. I'd base it out of Germany or the UK, or whatever makes the best business sense.
Develop a European hardware platform. IMO, it wouldn't be that hard to do, since most, if not all, of Europe uses the same technical standards (in power, connections, and signals, a box would need to comply to. Perhaps the Box made for Seven Media Group in
Australia can be used in the European market.
use a modular language system. Perhaps include English, French, and German, and download other modules as needed. Manuals, boxes, and sales material, and web support, will need translated, although that would be one time, almost.
Guide data from the various networks and providers. That is, if there is no pan-European equivalent to Tribune, which EuroTiVo could buy the guide data from.
for the connection, one could eliminate the modem altogether, and rely on other connection means.

[TivoZorro]

When I lived in Madrid from 1984-86 there were two or at the most three tv channels. I think one family had a VCR because the son worked nights as the head of security at a casino and he wtched a ton of movies during the day. Had quite a collection and back then it had to be videotapes.

Now it appears that the times have changed. Madrid has four channels, check out the link below. And it appears that Satellite/Cable Channels and Pay Per View is available. Although they don't list where they are carried but I assume Madrid being the capital would have some of that.

The telephone charges back then were very expensive. I lived with some well off families and we were not allowed to touch the phone. Had to go to a pay phone or one of the phone exchange buildings to make phone calls to America. Don't know if that has gotten any better or not. It would be interesting to know how people connect to the Internet there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_Spain#Madrid

Back during my stay they did air some American shows. Remember watching Falcon Crest in Spanish! Had to watch what was there since it was so limited. Remember we were on a university trip to Galicia (Northwest Spain) and stopped at a bar for a potty break. Some of the girls came out crying because it was the Shuttle blowing up was being aired on tv.

I imagine that probably some of Spain's upper class could afford a Tivo but I'm not sure what the financial breakdown is right now in Spain.

[ZeoTiVo]

The TiVo they designed for Australia and are intorducing there will also work in the European market. No real R&D for TiVo to do.
Market research and how to deal with the EU are the real issues Tivo would need to overcome for an European/Spanish entry. Would not surprise me if TiVo is already looking into an EU entry