While TiVo is extremely well-known on the US market, its presence in other parts of the world is more or less non-existent. However, it seems that the company might be extending to Europe as well, since it's apparently just signed a deal with Virgin Media, following which it will become the exclusive provider of middleware and user interface software for the latter's next-gen set-top boxes.

So, as a result of the agreement between the two companies, TiVo will develop a converged television and broadband interactive interface that will deliver a superior television viewing experience to the people who opt for Virgin Media's services. And given TiVo's experience in this field, it's likely that the result will indeed be quite a satisfactory one.

Neil Berkett, CEO of Virgin Media said, "TiVo's proven track record of innovation, strength of its patented technology and experience in developing best in class user environments, make it an ideal strategic partner for Virgin Media as we move aggressively to bring our next generation TV service to market. The superiority of our fiber optic network combined with TiVo's capabilities, will allow us to offer consumers the most significantly advanced and compelling TV service available in the UK, and we believe will do to the TV market what Virgin Media has done to the high speed broadband market."

"This deal underscores TiVo's commitment to expanding its global footprint through strategic alliances with leading international media companies to help them deliver the best in-home entertainment experience for consumers," Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo Inc., added. "We are very excited about this new distribution relationship with the UK's most advanced pay television provider and are particularly proud to have been selected as Virgin Media's core software partner for its next generation DVR-enabled set top boxes and its next generation non-DVR set top boxes. Virgin Media is a true leader in the world of entertainment and their enthusiasm for building the next generation of pay television is an excellent opportunity to put all of TiVo's innovation to work in a product distributed by a world class partner. We believe this international deal affords us a significant subscriber growth opportunity."

Although things are kind of abstract at this point, Virgin Media does point out the fact that it expects its first TiVo co-branded product to make it to the market by 2010, and we're certainly curious to see just how its promise will ultimately materialize.

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