Tivo and Blockbuster will announce today a joint distribution and marketing deal.

I recall as late as last August when some analysts were talking as if we would all be dancing on Tivo's grave. Their prognostication (you see how well they can predict the future) was that while Tivo while experiencing consecutive quarters of growth it would continue to see a weak forecast due to customer churn and competition from other sources.

While it's correct that MSO's are offering cheap DVR alternatives, Satellite and platforms like Roku for Netflix all draw profits away from Tivo, it is curious to see Blockbuster, the once monolithic symbol for DVD rentals will announce today they are partnering with Tivo to offer between 5,000 too 10,000 titles at any one time, mostly newer releases like "The Dark Knight" that will typically cost $3.99 to watch over a 24-hour period. In addition, Blockbuster will sell Tivo DVR's in their stores however, specific models and pricing were not discussed. The Blockbuster feature will be available for standalone users of the TiVo Series 2 and 3 units, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL DVRs.

Blockbuster On Demand will be accessible only to the approximately 800,000 TiVo owners who have broadband Internet connected directly to their TiVo boxes. The company already offers online rentals through the Movielink service it bought from a group of studios in 2007.
"We are excited to be teaming with TiVo, the company that created the DVR, to make Blockbuster's entertainment content readily available to their millions of subscribers," Jim Keyes, chief executive of Blockbuster, said in a statement. "Ultimately, our vision is to work with TiVo so that their subscribers can access movies not only through our On Demand service but also from our stores and through our by-mail service as well."

Considering Blockbuster is trading below one dollar, a level at which some companies had been delisted in the past, Tivo on the other hand is trading at about seven times that amount. The company still offers an unrivaled OS and UI which has provided the company with the agnostic means to attract players like Amazon and Blockbuster. That no one platform has yet cemented the lean back entertainment crowd, it should not be lost on analysts, who my friend now calls the idiots who just downgraded your stock that forecasting is more then looking at formulation trends and tables, it's about customer excitement and desire.