Brightcove, Jeremy Allair's Boston-based start up, came out of stealth today - and dropped it's former name - VidMark.

Jeremy and his brother are the brains behind coldfusion - and it's pretty clear from reading his blog and various reports that he's got a long term vision of making video as web friendly as text is today.

This is good news for a bunch of reasons.

While early players like Akimbo make it easy to get excited about IPTV, it is a closed subscription based network. Brightcove is 'customer facing" and seems more like it's poised to build out a big IPTV solution without a hardware base.

There are a bunch of links that have some interesting bits of info.

BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLE

Brightcove Web Site

JEREMYS BLOG

It's worth connecting the dots and remembering tha Jermey was CTO of macromedia.. and the company web site has some pretty cool use of video and flash.

Here's what he said in a December Boston Globe article: "We have this situation where the number of people who can produce video programming is poised to explode, with inexpensive digital cameras and editing tools, and the existing distribution systems can't support it," he says. "You can't have 100,000 people producing shows for cable television. The only thing that can support it is the Internet."

And Brightcove isn't starting in a garage either - Brightcove already has $5.5 million of first-round venture funding from General Catalyst Partners and Accel Partners.

Overall - this is great news for the space, and should help validate alot of the talk that has been buzzing around about content, video, and new publishing platforms.

I've been a big fan of Zana and Ross since i saw Born Into Brothels at Full Frame. It's a remarkable movie - and despite its subject matter a very uplifting and inspirational film.

But even more than that - it's an amazing testament to the power of personal storytelling and first-person publishing. While Zana is the impetus of the story - turning these kids into storytellers, once empowered they quickly understand the power of pictures to both illuminate their lives and change them.

This makes the journey of this film a pretty powerful example of the kind of future I imagine with first person storytelling and user-video coming on line in the next 24 - 48 months.

So BRAVO to Zana and Ross - and don't miss this movie.

Kids-With-Cameras.org

I have now installed Tivo To Go in my Laboratory... (otherwise known as my living room).

And it's been an eye opening experience - both technically and otherwise.

I've been running my Tivo desktop off of my G5, which is where I have all the family pictures and music. But the new app (2.0) is PC only at this time. So I needed to rethink home network architecture. Argh. First, i downloaded a great new app Network Magic which may have been unnecessary - but turned out to be very cool.

Basically - it is a PC app that maps your home network in a graphical way. Also no Mac app (argh), but it does map your Mac's if you run it on a PC.

Then I powered up the new Tivo To Go app. After some troubleshooting with the firewall, ta da.

First piece of WOW is just seeing every file on your Tivo listed on a computer menu. Can't explain why it's cool - just is. Seeing that those files are free to move around - or the promise of that - is exciting.

Now, to the tricky part. Watching something. First you have to TRANSFER the file from the Tivo to your desktop (my Dell). This takes forever. But the files are big, and I'm still on a 802.11b network - so you just transfer and wait till tomorrow.

Then the fun begins. Because now you're out of plug and play Tivo land and into Microsoft Windows Media 10 land. First - the player says that I don't have the right Codec. No clues what I can do to fix it - but Tivo sends me to a bunch of $20+ codec products. Not sure who I'm doing business with here, Microsoft, Tivo, or 3rd party guys who I didn't even know I needed. But MPEG 2 needs a new Codec.

A quick visit to the Tivo user-content discussion boards clues me in -there's a free package that works fine. 19 download, install, configure steps later...

I'm watching Seinfeld on my PC. But it's 480 x 480 and the sound is out of sync.

So it's been 4 hrs. I've got bad aspect ratio and bad sync - and the solution seems to be to keep trying to remove and re-install the codec's until one works.

Hardly for the faint of heart.

Lesson - if we think IPTV or any such thing is just around the corner, we've got some engineering to get through. No average consumer is going to be able to spell Codec.

And then there's the question of what I can do with the media after it looks and sounds right. Because it's still in a Tivo security wrapper. So - for example - if I want to store a news story that my son was featured in, but it's recorded in a 2 hr block of CNN - I've got no way to edit it without dumping it to tape and then bringing it back in.... or using some sort of Dr. Divix software an other $30 - which I don't want to do.

Bottom line. Coolness Factor - +10.
Ease of install - +7
Ease of use (codec install) -3

Now, if only I could de-install the Ligos Codec, I'd be all set.

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT.

As many of you already know - the U.S. Military has filed extremely serious charges against Ilario Pantano - CameraPlanet's former Director of News Operations. While we have no knowledge of what happened in Iraq, we do have a great deal of experience regarding Mr. Pantano and his character during his work at CameraPlanet.

A detailed and dedicated manager, Mr. Pantano took over CameraPlanet's newsgathering operation as we entered a period of extreme danger, complexity, and risk.

During his tenure with CP - he oversaw more than twelve months of production, including work that sent Eve Ensler and a crew to Afghanistan, Linda Ellerbee and a crew to Afghanistan, and Peter Arnett, and a crew to Afghanistan and Iraq. Often on call 24 hrs a day, Ilario was dedicated and focused on the safety and security of all of the members of the crew - establishing detailed and thoughtful protocols to keep our teams out of harms way. Mr. Pantano was instrumental in hiring our traveling security teams, and in assuring that all members of the team operated within agreed upon parameters.

In addition to the newsgathering trips mentioned above, Mr. Pantano oversaw an assignment for the State Department, documenting the opening of new schools in Afghanistan. This too was conducted with dedication and detail.

There was never a time that we found him to be anything other than thoughtful, focused, and rigorous.

Those that worked with him were impressed with his ability to work hand in hand with people of diverse beliefs, focused instead on his mission to move journalists and support personnel in and out of dangerous situations.

We support Mr. Pantano, and have every expectation that he will be found not guilty and returned to his family with his reputation restored.

i'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the Archive, so i thought i'd put out some info and solicit some advice.

Back in 2001 - when i was Directing "7 Days In September" it became clear to me that there were far more stories than i could fit in a feature documentary. It was also obvious that people who experienced 9/11, and who'd photographed it, were looking for a way to both share their experiences and know that the urge to record the events was a valid emotional response.

I can't explain why we took on with such devotion the job of cataloging, interviewing, fact checking, and storing hundreds of hours of stories and video. I would tell you it was for the film, but we continued to collect material long after the film was complete.

I guess i always imagined that my kids - and they're kids - would say one day "What was it like to be in New York on the day of and after 9/11" and i thought that a nuanced and human collection of sounds, video, and memories would be important.

Already history is melting the complex memories and emotions of the time down into simple log lines.

So now i have the honor, and responsibility, of shepherding the largest collection of non-news video from 9/11. More than 400 hrs. And the truth is i always imagined we'd donate it to the Smithsonian, or another appropriate institution, where it would live in some sort of digital, non-linear, shared experience. Maybe... a Creative Commons license that would allow students and artist to share the material.

And that's still my goal.

But the Archive is not owned by me - it's an asset of CameraPlanet. And CameraPlanet needs to address it's issues. So now i'm in the position of needing to find a buyer, investor, philanthropist, foundation, or corporation that wants to pick up this piece of history... and protect it for future generations. And in doing so, make peace with the Bank of America, who has been wonderful, but certainly would like to get paid what is owed them.

So there are lots of moving pieces.

And what i'm concerned about is that in the mix, this treasure gets turned into a piece of collateral that is auctioned to the highest bidder, rather than placed with the appropriate institution or individual.

I guess it's more like an adoption than a auction.

thoughts?

As I've learned in the last 24 hrs - people don't read blogs, they skim. So I've gotten more than my share of hate mail from Tivo fans who think I'm adding to the negative karma.

TO CLARLIFY - Tivo should, and will, survive. The Apple, Google, and other rumors not withstanding... it's too powerful a brand and too exciting a platform to not continue to be a force in the emerging home media market.

I'm sure.

My point was - and is - that Tivo has already had a MASSIVE impact on shaping the public's understanding of what kind of control they can expect from their media. Just watching how Comcast is rethinking the very nature of cable is a clue that non-linear viewing is here to stay.

So - please - stop sending me 'Tivo Traitor' mail. I'm far from it. Instead - let's work on finding an economic way for Tivo to make it during the 2 year gulch while VOD and other services come into their own.

Also - does anyone know what percentage of Tivo is owned by NBC? If Tivo is in fact 'for sale' what is make up of the controlling stock. That should tell us a lot about where it's going to end up.

Here's a take - maybe Tivo shouldn't be saved. Now, I say this as the owner of 3 Tivo boxes (2 series II) that I love.

But let's look at the marketing battle that's been waged so far. Tivo owners are OUTRAGED that cable companies haven't just lay down and let Tivo take control over their interface, their economics, and their future. Shame on them.

Meanwhile TIVO has argued back that cable DVR's are weak rip-offs. Yes they're cheaper, but they're not as good.

Remember back to Beta vs. VHS? Beta was better. VHS was cheaper. Can Tivo win that kind of match up?

The bottom line is that Tivo has been playing footsy with the cable industry - considering deals that would make their device a pawn in the walled garden game.

Meanwhile - Tivo is a hard drive waiting for content marketplace to arrive and give it a new reason to be not just better, but uniquely different than the cable DVR.

The Tahiti software that was announced at CES is the breakthrough that Tivo needed to ignite an explosion of new users, new content, and empower IPTV over broadband.

A great idea - but the gap between early adopters and mass adoption may simply be too great. Remember the Apple Newton?

And here's why it doesn't matter. Tivo has launched the revolution. It's taught the early adopters that control of content is a reality - and now the content creation community is a buzz with new ideas, new services, and the kind of entrepreneurial energy that hasn't been seen five years.

So if Tivo's brand is it's greatest asset - it will evolve. But the hardware (much as I love it) needs to be faster, fatter, and more easily plug-and-play before it's going to earn a place in the average living room.

After all - how many people have a broadband connection near their living room TV. A wireless network?

The future is Tivo. Hard drive connected to a TV. Tied to a broadband connection. With an elegant, intuitive, friendly interface. But a leopard doesn't change it's spots. And Tivo is a brilliant technology company that's grown despite it's feeble attempts at consumer marketing - and expanding products and services.

I'm read! I'm ready to:

1. I'm ready to buy stuff from Tivo. But they have to turn into a marketing and sales company.

2. I'm ready to replace my Tivo II box with a Tivo III if it stores and controls HD video.

3. I'm ready to try Tivo to go (if it EVER arrives on my box - but I'm not holding my breath).

4. I'm ready to entrust my content to a Tivo managed and distributed IPTV network.

5. I'll even try what they call 'couch commerce' even if the term makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

But in order for me to do any of the things above - someone needs to build the service, and have a conversation with me as a Tivo customer. I've owned Tivo for 5 years. I don't want the brand, the service, or the idea to die. But I'm sure that whatever happens to the company - the seeds have been sown. Consumer control of media began with Tivo - but it won't end there.

It began - of course - with .…Jon Stewart (VIDEO) (thanks Jason Calacanis) and today the New York Times adds their voice.

FRANK RICH / The White House Stages Its 'Daily Show'
Published: February 20, 2005

HE prayers of those hoping that real television news might take its cues from Jon Stewart were finally answered on Feb. 9, 2005. A real newsman borrowed a technique from fake news to deliver real news about fake news in prime time.

Let me explain.

On "Countdown," a nightly news hour on MSNBC, the anchor, Keith Olbermann, led off with a classic "Daily Show"-style bit: a rapid-fire montage of sharply edited video bites illustrating the apparent idiocy of those in Washington. In this case, the eight clips stretched over a year in the White House briefing room - from February 2004 to late last month - and all featured a reporter named "Jeff." In most of them, the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, says "Go ahead, Jeff," and "Jeff" responds with a softball question intended not to elicit information but to boost President Bush and smear his political opponents. In the last clip, "Jeff" is quizzing the president himself, in his first post-inaugural press conference of Jan. 26. Referring to Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton, "Jeff" asks, "How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"

more... LINK

Bruce Eskowitz from Clear Channel let slip (or announced but no one noticed) that they have wired their venues for Wi-fi and would be rolling out services at the venues THIS SUMMER. Services include; Voting on encores, blogging, Text to screen, and other wi-fi enabled services. That turns clear channel venues into the ultimate user-content creation venue. It also raises a bunch of interesting issues like copyright, control of music licensing, critical bloggers, etc.

A Grammy Footnote / from Broadcasting & Cable BLOG

B&C Beat fans know we like to illuminate the real meat of every story. Well, beyond the Grammy glitz and ratings turmoil lurks news about one of the biggest trends in the media biz we all know and luv -- the continuing fear-and-loathing of the web.

Seems like jazzy Maria Schneider took home an award for the album "Concert in the Garden" -- which was sold only on the web and was financed entirely by her fans, through the web-only distributor ArtistShare. It cost a mere $87G to make the album, and she's made that money back, plus more. Sez the lady: I'm not splitting the profits with the distributor, the record store and the record company. It's working so well for me!

Hmm.

Stories from CNet and Reuters. Link to ArtistShare.

By Staff at 2005-02-14 15:01 | add new comment

When a phrase works, it works. Now it seems like "The Long Tail" has been around forever. And companies are referring to it as if everyone knows the concept and agrees that it's basic reasoning is sound.

It is.

And now the latest to jump on the bandwaggon is Google LINK

And Chris Anderson continues to blog with terrific passion and conviction about the impact of the Long Tail (his phrase) on tv, books, music, and advertising LINK

This may all seem somewhat circular, but in fact part of the cool thing about watching an idea evolve in blogs is that you get to see many points of view as the concept crystallizes. Ross Mayfield reviews Chris Anderson's presentation at the Media Center seminar: LINK

It's all taking shape - creating value in small audiences, empowering small advertisers to actually reach appropriate audiences. Very exciting stuff.

I've been thinking a lot about CES and NATPE and the extraordinary disconnect between what is happening on the technology side, and what is happening on the programming/advertising side.

Really it can be argued that from the moment Tivo arrived on the planet, our business had a running start at understanding/evolving it's relationship with viewers and advertisers.

But the truth is - it hasn't happened.

Tv is pretty much the same as it was 5 years ago. And all the denials aside, the projection of Tivo like devices in the home suggests that we continue to ignore this evolution at our peril.

First of all - consumers want the freedom to watch what they want when they want it.

Second - broadband is a fat pipe. It's being laid into virtually every living room in American.

Third. People don't hate all advertising - just the stuff that clearly has no need to reach them (I don't like ads for Women's makeup, call me crazy!).

It seems to me that our customers have been promised new services for a very long time... And we've continued to say that this media evolution is right around the corner. Well now the Consumer Electronics folks aren't going to wait any longer - they're going to build a new highway into America's living rooms (and cars, and handheld devices, and phones, and wrist watches... You get the idea).

And once it's built - there's no telling what will travel on that highway. It may be network TV shows, it maybe Hollywood movies, but it won't discriminate... So competition is very much on the horizon.

The one thing I found in comparing CES to NATPE is that advertisers had pulled their head out of the sand, and were actively thinking about new ways to have relationships with their customers.

There are plenty of brands that I'd enjoy watching on my TV. I'd watch Sharper Image. I'd watch BMW (I already do). I'd watch a whole bunch of fashion info if it were tied to catalogs I like (lands end, LL Bean, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic).

Maybe I'm rambling, but it seems to me that folks are using Bittorrnet and such, not because they want to - but because they're forced to. And advertisers will figure that our long before TV networks do. If advertiser find a way to do business directly with viewers - then the model is really exploded.

Once the smoke clears - there will be something entirely new in it's place. And that's worth thinking about.

More from this great Business Week article:
Next: TV Meets IP
Internet technologies promise to soon take couch potatoes to worlds far beyond TiVo. Even phone companies could benefit big-time

Just a few years ago, the fine art of watching TV seemed unlikely to change much. You watched programs when the networks told you to watch them. Maybe you taped them on a videocassette recorder. Either way, your choices were limited. Then along came the TiVo (TIVO ) digital video recorder, which as its 2 million loyal customers will tell you, added more than a little convenience to the coach potato's world.

Turns out, TiVo was just the start. A new wave of TV-related innovation called IP-TV is just starting to reach consumers. Just as the service known as voice over Internet protocol is poised to revolutionize the phone business by offering a low-cost Internet alternative to traditional phone service, IP-TV could bring Internet-style interactivity and flexibility to your TV set.

It won't happen overnight, of course. But over the next decade, the long-hyped notion of "video-on-demand" could become commonplace, allowing consumers to watch what they want, when they want to. They'll be able to control their IP-TV service remotely through a PC or a cell phone. And they'll be able to personalize their content, whether they want to watch the local high school football game or home movies.

THE ARTICLE CONTINUES: LINK

->From business week:

Digital technologies mean more than just sharper pictures. Here's a look at three major trends they'll make possible

The 1977 fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier was more than a colossal battle between two legendary heavyweights. "The Thrilla in Manila," shown on HBO, was the first live satellite broadcast over cable TV. It heralded the beginning of cable as a new standard that could one day replace the broadcast model.

Twenty-seven years later, analog cable will finally make way for a new champ -- digital TV. Though only 13% of homes will have digital TV by the end of 2004, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn., which expects that number to reach 65% by 2008. Three major tech trends will fuel this adoption: broadband Internet, wireless home networking, and high-definition broadcasting -- all of which will pave the way for entirely new possibilities in TV

Article continues: LINK

Maybe I'm just reading too much into symbolism - but we got home in time to tune into the Half-Time Show of the Super Bowl tonight.

After last year - I was sure that a million eyes would be on the content. And I knew that security was at primary concern.

Paul McCartney was great - and the sound, picture, and staging was pretty impressive.

Then - for I think his third number - he launches into a driving rendition of "Live and Let Die" as the stadium erupts in rockets, flame throwers, and columns of smoke.

The lyrics say it all...

"When you were young and your heart was an open book,
You used to say live and let live.
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did.)
But if this ever changing world in which we live in,
Makes you give in and cry...
Say live and let die.
(Live and let die.)
Live and let die.
(Live and let die.)"

Did anyone think about the fact that we're at war? That our young men and women are dying? That we're trying to present ourselves as a just, fair, and decent people. Maybe these lyrics are fine for the fictional world of James Bond

the lyrics continue:

"What does it matter to you?
When you got a job to do you gotta do it well.
You've got to give the other fella hell."

I just keep thinking about the families of both the American and Iraqi casualties - and wondering if they'll think that Live And Let Die is really an ok public message for the most widely watched US Television event seen around the world?

I tried to just enjoy the spectacle, the crowds, the flat screen monitors, even the slightly radical shirt that Paul was wearing. But somehow the words just cut through it all.

Maybe it was an oversight. Maybe it wasn't a purposeful public strutting of our Military Might. Maybe Paul has sung the song so many times it's just a nice tune.

But after Janet Jackson - we've learned that even a 'malfunction' can have significant consequences (just ask all the broadcasters and content makers who are now trying to figure out what indecency is). But "Live and Let Die" being blasted to a stadium of well fed, well housed, protected American's as we have troops overseas seems to me to be the ultimate international statement of arrogance.

I've been avoiding this post. First I thought, we're just busy (I've been traveling). Then I thought, it'll happen. but it hasn't. Which isn't to say I don't love having it in my rack of cool gizmo's.

But this is going to be the challenge of all Future TV devices and services. If a tree falls in the forest (or a new show is available for download) how do I know.

My son - who's got his own ideas about media to be sure - says Akimbo "sucks". I'm not nearly that harsh. My wife and younger son have abandoned it... 'nothing on'.

And I think it's pretty early to write it off. The technology works - and content will follow.

But Akimbo's navigation makes it hard - almost impossible in fact - to enjoy browsing, exploring, looking for new things. There's no search. No web enabled portal that can program my box, no email each week alerting me to new things I might like...

In sort - no attempt to welcome me to the service, make me feel I'm part of a grand new thing. BTW - Tivo was able to do that. Capitalize on that - no, but at least get the juices flowing.

It may be that I'm just way too early. I'm clearly an alpha customer (are there 12,000 boxes out yet, I don't think so).

But when I find my self wondering if I'll keep it 'because it looks cool' or send it back - the bottom line is, I've given up using it. And that's just sad.

So IPTV entrepreneurs, Exploding TV fans, and Citizen Journalists alike - worth taking not. Getting your content to the box in someone's home isn't worth a damn if you can't get them to click on the link that downloads it.

more good stuff from TVPredictions.com

Washington, D.C. (November 18) -- By this time next year, you will be up to your ears in Internet TV.

The technology, which enables communications firms to deliver programming over the Internet to the TV via a Broadband connection, will be hailed as the next big thing by industry analysts. Wall Street firms will recommend that their clients buy companies that offer Internet TV services. And, the mainstream media will cover the new trend as if it were the Second Coming.

And, for once, they will all be right.

I predict that Internet TV will revolutionize the TV industry, giving viewers thousands of programming options. Unlike a cable "head end" or a satellite in orbit, an Internet server can store an almost unlimited amount of shows. For instance, NBC could put hundreds or thousands of shows on a group of servers, allowing viewers to watch everything from the first Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to last week's Crossing Jordan. (If, that is, the network owns the rights to the show; many past shows are owned by the original production companies, which might offer their own on-demand lineups. For instance, can you imagine what Major League Baseball could do with its library of World Series and playoff games?)

With a Broadband connection attached to his television, the viewer could download those shows with a few clicks of the remote. And, with a TV search engine, he could locate any show he could think of.

With Internet TV, television will go from being a convenience store to a giant supermarket. The viewer will scan the aisles for interesting programming, whether it's from a well-known network or a start-up TV service based in someone's garage in Silicon Valley. Much like today's World Wide Web, Internet TV will give an equal opportunity to the big and the small. Of course, the established media will always have an advantage due to marketing muscle and recognition factor. But they will have to work harder to keep their spot in the viewer's mind.

Birth
It will be a few years, at least, before millions of Americans have Broadband-enabled TVs. But in 2004, we witnessed the birth of Internet TV in the United States. Disney launched a Video on Demand service called Moviebeam, which enables consumers to download hit movies over a Broadband-enabled receiver. Microsoft and SBC yesterday announced a $400 million deal to deliver TV signals via high-speed Internet lines. TiVo and NetFlix signed a partnership deal to develop an online DVD rental service. And Akimbo, a start-up company, launched its Internet TV video player which delivers special interest programming over the Net to the TV.

As you can imagine, the actions have gotten the attention of cable and satellite operators, which now provide TV services to nearly 90 percent of U.S. homes. They are obviously not interested in letting a new business emerge that could bypass their companies entirely. So, I also predict that you will see both cable and satellite TV companies announce their own Internet TV divisions in 2005. (EchoStar, in fact, has already announced plans with SBC for a mid-summer launch of an online Video on Demand service.)

Internet TV will indeed be a big thing. The only question is which players will benefit the most from the technology. That's why Microsoft is particularly excited about yesterday's SBC announcement. If the SBC business goes smoothly, Microsoft could easily become the Internet TV software of choice for the cable TV industry.

Afterall, Microsoft didn't invest that $6 billion in the cable TV business for nothing.

Phillip Swann is President & Publisher of TVPredictions.com. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at 703-505-3064 or at Swann@TVPredictions.com. And come back every weekday for a new prediction for 2005!

from TVPredictions.com:

TiVo Exit Could Open DoorsDespite popular wisdom, today's resignation of TiVo President Marty Yudkovitz doesn't mean the DVR service won't pursue a cable or satellite partnership. By Phillip SwannWashington, D.C. (February 1) -- TiVo President Marty Yudkovitz announced today that he's resigning because he says he wants to spend more time with his wife and children.

That's a nice sentiment, but Yudkovitz is also leaving because he would like to spend less time with company CEO and chairman, Mike Ramsay. Yudkovitz, a former NBC executive, was hired by Ramsay in 2003 to develop new industry partnerships, particularly with the cable TV industry. Despite industry buzz and early adopter loyalty, TiVo's future growth was in doubt because cable operators were about to launch their own DVRs. (In addition, TiVo's partnership with DIRECTV appeared vulnerable because the satcaster was about to be purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which owns a rival DVR service.)
TiVo needed at least one major cable operator to offer its DVR service to its customers. From the beginning, Yudkovitz struggled to persuade Ramsay to accept cable's terms for licensing TiVo's software, according to sources. But in 2004, Yudkovitz and his team landed the Great White Whale of the cable TV industry. Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator with more than 22 million homes, agreed to license TiVo's DVR service.

But after reviewing -- and perhaps re-reviewing -- the terms, Ramsay nixed the deal, infuriating Yudkovitz and other TiVo officials. The Ramsay-Yudkovitz relationship could not be patched after that, which led, in part, to Ramsay's decision last month to step aside as company CEO. TiVo's board had lost confidence in Ramsay's ability to keep the company alive without a major cable or satellite partnership. The board believed that a new CEO might re-open some doors and develop new strategies. And that's why Yudkovitz's departure today does not signal that the company is no longer interested in a cable or satellite deal, despite some comments to the contrary by Wall Street analysts. "While this is not good news, it is clear that TiVo is going in a new direction and focusing on the (retail) business," William Blair analyst David Farina pointed out in a note Tuesday morning, according to TheStreet.com's George Mannes. "Mr. Yudkovitz's departure further increases the company's dependence on the (retail) business, as Mr. Yudkovitz was the company's best hope of finding a cable partner, in our view." Yudkovitz left because he was exhausted and frustrated over Ramsay's interference during his 20-month tenure. In addition, with Ramsay still remaining as company chairman, Yudkovitz's future effectiveness would be limited. The company needed a fresh start at both the CEO and presidential level. Plus, ask yourself: Why would TiVo's board go through the trouble of persuading Ramsay to step aside if the new CEO would simply follow in his path and focus on retail rather than cable and satellite licensing pacts? No, TiVo's new CEO, who has yet to be announced, will try to re-open the cable doors -- and listen to offers to sell the company. It may be too late, but it's the only way that TiVo can survive for the long haul.Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com, has been quoted on TV technology in dozens of publications and by broadcast outlets, such as The Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News and CNN. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at 703-505-3064 or at Swann@TVPredictions.com.