TiVo announced a new service on Thursday called KidZone, which lets parents control what their kids are watching with TiVo. The new software works on all series 2 TiVo boxes and will be available as a free upgrade starting in June.
Parents can add specific shows they want TiVo to record for their children, or they can choose a list of preselected shows rated by either of two groups–Common Sense Media or the Parents Television Council.
One of the ways parents can select content to be recorded by TiVo for their children is by clicking on a specific age range. TV shows that are appropriate for the selected age group will appear as part of KidZone. Parents can later add or delete shows as they see fit.
TiVo Chief Executive Tom Rogers demonstrates how the KidZone service works.
Tom Rogers, who became CEO of TiVo in June, is faced with the challenge of helping TiVo grow its business in light of increasing competition in the digital recording market. The new KidZone service is one of the company’s latest attempts to differentiate its product from the DVRs sold by other companies, including cable and satellite TV providers.
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Previously, Bill was an IT manager in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.
