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TiVo was considered to be the largest provider of DVR services. Its major competitor (#2 in the market) is EchoStar which is Dish Network. Dish network had a total of 10.5 million customers in mid 2005. DVR services were offered to these customers at a price starting at $19.99 per month. Their service required a set-top box which Dish network has occasionally given away for free to their customers.

In the stand alone DVR product line, TiVo’s major competitor is ReplayTV. Replay’s initial business model was to charge an initial fee for the equipment which included a lifetime subscription. In 2002 they began charging a monthly service fee of $9.95.

The strength of TiVo’s competitors is in the services they offer. Their competitors offer multiple tuners enabling customers to record two shows at the same time. They also offered DVRs compatible with high-definition television programs. It would take eighteen months for TiVo to match these product features.

TiVo is also facing competition from new companies such as Akimbo, 2Wire, and Microsoft entering the market and offering DVR services over the internet. 2Wire was founded in 1998. They were able to offer an integrated satellite and digital television receiver, high definition DVR, digital media server, multi-room entertainment networking, and broadband media services. Their initial set-top box offered some features that were superior to TiVo’s.

Akimbo was founded in 2002. They offered their services over the internet rather than through cable or satellite. Customers were able to view programming from over the internet, on their television set. The Akimbo business model was to charge an upfront cost of $229.99 for hardware and a monthly subscription fee of $9.99 or a lifetime fee of $199.99. They also offered premium content at an additional cost.

There are also several smaller sized companies that could become potential competitors for TiVo. These companies include: Time-Warner Cable, Charter...