TiVo Gives Thumbs Up to New CEO

TiVo has brought in a veteran media executive to head the company, ending a four month search after TiVo founder Mike Ramsay announced plans to step down as CEO in January. Tom Rogers had served as executive vice president of NBC and was CEO of Primedia before coming to TiVo as a member of the board in 1999. He later became vice chairman in 2004.

As the DVR company's new CEO, Rogers will have the task of bringing TiVo's subscriber numbers up, something the company has admittedly had difficulty doing. Most of TiVo's subscribers come through its partnership with DirecTV, which make up about 2.1 million of a total 3.3 million subscribers.

"I am firmly convinced that TiVo can extend its strong brand identity and technology platform to the mass market through broader distribution by various carriers, and through growing its value as an advertising medium," Rogers said in prepared remarks.

The TiVo board had looked at several candidates before settling on Rogers, citing his previous executive experience and knowledge of the company. "We could not be more thrilled that we got our top choice to take on this leadership position," founding TiVo board member and head of the CEO search Randy Komisar said.

Rogers was key in securing TiVo's bundling deal with Comcast, which many analysts see as crucial to keep the company moving forward. TiVo had been criticized for depending too heavily on its relationship with DirecTV for subscribers and not tapping into the broader cable market.

Former CEO Mike Ramsay will continue to serve on the board and will chair the technology committee. When announcing his resignation plans, Ramsay said it was time "to bring in an outstanding chief executive officer to lead the company."

"I've enjoyed watching Tom's passion for TiVo grow from his earliest involvement in the Company through his more recent tenure on the Board," Ramsay said. "This, coupled with his contributions to many facets of our business during that time, give me real confidence that he will be successful in taking the company to the next level."