TiVo turns on Virgin's viewers

Virgin Media TV customers are embracing TiVo - the new, set-top boxes which not only let viewers watch televison on demand but also recommend and automatically record new shows based on past viewing habits.

More than 50,000 Virgin subscribers have already pre-registered for TiVo, chief executive Neil Berkett said today, ahead of a public launch in the spring.

"The feedback from customers has been very, very positive," he said.

Consumers must pay £199 upfront for a TiVo box and then an extra £3 a month. That works out at £26.50 a month for Virgin Media's television subscribers.

TiVo, a rival to BSkyB's Sky+ technology, has already proved popular in the US. Quarterly revenues at Virgin Media broke through the £1 billion barrier for the first time in the last three months of 2010 as its four million customers continue to spend on high-speed broadband and subscription TV,

Annual revenues rose 5.8% to £3.89 billion and free cash flow, a key measure of how much money Virgin is generating, rose 24%.

Virgin's pre-tax losses fell 17% to £293.3 million.