TiVo Inc. on Monday said it named media veteran Tom Rogers as chief executive, effective July 1, succeeding Michael Ramsay, who had previously announced his plan to step down as CEO of the television recording technology company.
TiVo shares, which are up almost 16 percent this year, rose more than 2.5 percent on Nasdaq.
Rogers, who resigned as chairman of Primedia in 2003, has been vice chairman of TiVo's board since October 2004. TiVo in January said that Ramsay would step down as soon as a replacement was found.
Prior to Primedia, Rogers was president of NBC Cable, and executive vice president of NBC, where he was credited with crafting NBC's cable strategy, including the launch of networks such as CNBC and MSNBC, and leading NBC's initial investment in TiVo in 1999.
Rogers has recently been intimately involved with a deal that marries TiVo's digital video recorder (DVR) technology with Comcast Corp.'s cable TV systems. Over 3 million customers pay a monthly fee to use TiVo's DVR service, which lets users pause live TV and, in some cases, move recorded programs to a home computer or portable device.
Analysts said Rogers was a smart choice, given TiVo's complexities. While best known for its DVR, the company also makes software and hardware, makes broad distribution deals with cable and satellite TV providers, and is working on ways to access music, pictures, and shows over the Internet.
"He has the right set of skills," said Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst, who added that his experience in getting cable carriage deals for networks CNBC and MSNBC "is exactly comparable to TiVo's quest to get wider distribution on cable systems."
In an interview, Rogers said he plans to focus on expanding the reach of the Alviso, California-based company's service, and beefing up related advertising systems, such as the one it is developing with Comcast.
"Mass deployment and trying to drive the broader distribution of TiVo will be a major theme for me," Rogers told Reuters.
On a conference call, Rogers added that TiVo has been approached by, and is in talks with, several cable operators following the announcement of the Comcast deal.
"Much of my career has involved driving distribution to develop businesses that can benefit from the kind of flow that comes from increased distribution. Tivo, being taken to the next level, clearly fits in that zone," he said.
Rogers, who will also serve as president, said current CEO, Michael Ramsay, will remain a board member and will direct strategic planning for TiVo's technology issues. The position of chairman will be vacant.
Ramsay had previously said that he would stay on as chairman after a new CEO was named. Rogers said that scenario was mapped out in case an outside candidate was named who needed Ramsay's support on an interim basis.
"With the board approaching me at the end of the search process, the need for that approach did not seem necessary," Rogers said.
The position of president had been vacant.
