TiVo Lays Off Some Staff

Blaming poor economic conditions, TiVo started laying off some of its staff yesterday in an effort to lower operational costs. Silicon Alley Insider discovered the news in an SEC filing. From the filing:

On November 18, 2008, we commenced a plan to reduce our operational expenses, primarily through a reduction in headcount, as we manage through the challenges presented by a difficult economic climate and a rapidly evolving retail consumer market.

Details like how many people were being cut and from which departments were not immediately available, though SAI doesn’t think the number will be too big since the company says in the filing that it’s only taking a $1 million pre-tax charge for severance benefits and outplacement. We contacted TiVo and will update this story as we hear more.

TiVo has certainly had a rough year. Though it’s added services such YouTube videos and movies from Netflix, Jaman and CinemaNow, and won a patent dispute with EchoStar, the company has consistently lost subscribers as cable and satellite companies offer a cheaper DVR alternative. According to TV by the Numbers, the total TiVo subscriber count fell to 3.623 million, roughly the same number it had back in July 2005.