TiVo Trims Loss With Sharp Jump in Revenue

TiVo Inc. of San Jose, a pioneer in digital video recording, reported a narrower loss for its third quarter Thursday due largely to a sharp increase in revenue from subscribers and licensees.

For the three months ended Oct. 31, the company reported a loss of $11.5 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $34.5 million, or 81 cents a share, lost in the same period last year. Revenue rose to $25 million from $5.3 million, fueled in part by a new generation of TiVo recorders and a change in the way the company accounts for marketing costs.

Although TiVo has won plaudits for its technology, many analysts and investors have worried that its programming service will fail to attract subscribers quickly enough to sustain the company. Company executives said they expected the losses to continue in the next quarter and next year, but they also predicted that they’d generate sufficient revenue to cover day-to-day cash requirements.

Mike Ramsey, TiVo’s chief executive, told analysts that the company was focused on two initiatives in the coming year: extending TiVo’s service into music, pictures and other forms of entertainment, and increasing the ranks of companies making TiVo-powered recorders. He offered few details of those plans, however.

The results were announced after the markets closed Thursday. TiVo closed at $6.24, up 11 cents, on Nasdaq.