No Hulu Plus Or Netflix For Cable TiVo DVRs

Another stumbling block on the path to all-content multimedia enlightenment in a single STB has presented itself, with rights holders taking umbrage with TiVo DVRs supplied by cable companies. According to Suddenlink – though the limitation also stands for Cox and RCN – rights holders aren't willing to see streaming and VOD content on the same cable-powered device; that means that, while Hulu Plus is expected to launch on TiVo STBs soon, it will only be available for those bought at retail, not supplied by cable companies

"Currently, Hulu Plus will not be available on MVPD-provided TiVo Premiere DVRs," Netflix told GigaOm, meaning there will be a significant feature-gap between standalone TiVo units and those supplied by cable providers. Suddenlink rolled out TiVo Premiere units as a $15 per month option recently; however, $5 more a month gets you TiVo's own lease, and a box with Netflix support and Hulu Plus incoming.

The content issue could see TiVo struggle to pick up customers among cable companies, which had previously been identified as an under-staturated market for the DVR firm.