No more annual memberships?

I'm glad TiVo got rid of the annual plans. Having to commit to a payment plan for 1 or 2 years is not something I like to do.

steve614 said:

I'm glad TiVo got rid of the annual plans. Having to commit to a payment plan for 1 or 2 years is not something I like to do.

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Actually, the annual plan was not too bad for some people. You simply paid once per year and got a discount over paying monthly ($129 annually vs. $12.95 monthly). At that time there was no lifetime option, so I think it worked OK.

If I were Tivo, I would have left it in:

$19.99 monthly
$199 annually
$499 lifetime

Not saying I agree with the new pricing (that $199 looks awfully high right now), just that there is room for an annual pricing scheme.

I gave my sister a TiVo for christmas a few years ago and have been giving her annual subscriptions every year for christmas since. No idea what the plans will be like in December but at the moment it looks like this will be her last year with TiVo.

Well I just logged into my sisters TiVo account and it does not list an end date for the annual plan on the box. I am going to cross my fingers that as long as I do not mess with it that TiVo will grandfather me in on the annual plan and keep me at the same price.

segaily said:

Well I just logged into my sisters TiVo account and it does not list an end date for the annual plan on the box. I am going to cross my fingers that as long as I do not mess with it that TiVo will grandfather me in on the annual plan and keep me at the same price.

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If you currently have an annual you will be grandfathered in (they charged me $99, not sure why). Its no more annuals on new boxes moving forward.

In the past, Tivo has been very good at keeping your pricing stable except on an additional box even up to allowing you to sub a different box for it should it break or you decide to upgrade. I have had boxes on $6.95 since 2002 and that hasn't been offered for a while.


Hopefully (knock on wood), that'll remain the practice even though it looks like some things are changing with the Premieres (likely due to subsidized hardware costs).

As long as I'm grandfathered in at what I'm paying now I'm good, if not i will miss TiVo

Alvysyngr said:

If you currently have an annual you will be grandfathered in (they charged me $99, not sure why). Its no more annuals on new boxes moving forward.

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Is there a link for an announcement?

Hopefully grandfathering is the case. If not I guess I'll bite the bullet (after 10+ years) and move on to the FiOs box.

Are there any good comparisons for the FiOS box vs TiVo HD/Premiere?

My current annual sub expires 6/7/11 and I was able to sign up for the same rate ($129) for the next year -- just using my account page on the web site.

steve614 said:

I'm glad TiVo got rid of the annual plans. Having to commit to a payment plan for 1 or 2 years is not something I like to do.

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Then don't do it.

It's not like having the option means you have to take it.

TolloNodre said:

Then don't do it.

It's not like having the option means you have to take it.

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I agree. All my Tivos are lifetimed.
The OP was asking for our opinions.
My opinion against the annual plan was that it required a commitment. You buy a Tivo, 3 months later you decide its a POS and you're stuck paying it out or face an early termination fee.
Who wants to deal with that coupled with TiVo's questionable existence?
The new pricing plans make things much simpler (IMO).

Obviously for TiVo, the annual plans weren't working. The pricing plan used to be simple. Then they added the yearly plans.
Now they've realized it's better to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

steve614 said:

My opinion against the annual plan was that it required a commitment. You buy a Tivo, 3 months later you decide its a POS and you're stuck paying it out or face an early termination fee.

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It sounds to me like you're talking about annual contracts, not the prepaid once-yearly annual membership. I was paying $129/year (one lump sum), so there was nothing where I would be "stuck paying it out" nor the chance of "an early termination fee." I would be stuck having prepaid for the rest of the year, but that's not what you were saying.

I switched to lifetime at the end of my prepaid year (which was already a few months in when I got my Premiere XL), because TiVo offered me a discount to $299 instead of $399 for adding lifetime service. That seemed like a decent deal, given that I already had an extended warranty on the box.

Ah, yes. I could be confused about which plan the OP was referring to...

I have no problems with the payment up front yearly plans. Makes sense for people who know they will use the TiVo service but don't want a monthly charge.

Tivo site seems to only list plans/rates for the Premieres.

Anyone really know what the montly rate is/will be for all other units, besides Premieres?

Non Premiere rates are $12.95/month ($9.95 MSD) or $499 for lifetime ($399 MSD).

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/573