Seven and TiVo have come together to bring the much sought after TiVo service to Australia.

WTF? They should have done this years ago and it seems, from the media release, that it’s only going to be available for free-to-air channels.

Seven Media Group will lead the creation of the digital platform to enable TiVo’s digital video recorder and service, including the award-winning TiVo user interface. The platform will be available for use by other broadcasters and broadband content owners to create a compelling, interactive, free to air digital terrestrial television offering. The TiVo Service will be available across Australia and will include internationally recognized TiVo features like SeasonPass recordings and WishList searches and allow users to access broadband content on their TV.

Honestly, if they were going to do this, why wouldn’t they try to make it a competitor to Foxtel’s IQ? Of course Seven, along with Ten, is still to sign up to digital rebroadcast through Foxtel.

Having two platforms competing for our attention would only be better for the consumers (us) and build uptake of such technologies.

TiVo, in the US, is a subscription-based service but gives its users access to all channels (pay and FTA). Will the people not taking up Foxtel be compelled enough to dive into this? Probably not if the FTA networks aren’t going to produce some amazing content.

Also, it seems to me that a large percentage of the population who would have been the first to take up a TiVo service have already purchased a PVR, built a media centre, download torrents, or have IQ.