Did I Mention How Much I Love Tivo?

Yeah, I know I have.  We have saved a TON of money by having Tivo.  We don’t rent nearly as many movies as we used to.  If you recall, we spent a total of $155 to get a 140hr Tivo unit and that also covered the first year of service.  (The deal was that we got a brand new 140 hour unit if we prepaid one year of service).  Well, that year ended last month and I just got our first bill for $12.95 for the monthly charge.  I happily paid it and then remembered reading that Tivo has a competitive match offer.  FatWallet and a buddy of mine both reminded me of that.

So, yesterday I called Tivo and followed their menu options to “cancel your service”.  When I finally reached a live person, I asked them if they had a less expensive option than their $12.95 a month.  The woman said “no”, so I told her that Comcast has been hitting us hard lately to use their DVR service and that if we were to sell our Tivo unit on Ebay and then put that towards Comcast’s DVR subscription that would probably get us another year of service for just about nothing.  (which is pretty much a true story)  At that point the woman said, “Well, I can put you on the lifetime $6.95 a month service”.  I said, “You can do that?” (okay, I knew that). She said, “Yes”.  So, with that I now have my Tivo service at $6.95 a month for life (or at least until they go out of business).

Part of me feels a bit guilty about only paying $6.95, but they created this situation by making it available.  Frankly I’m surprised that they don’t read FatWallet and take away this offer.  They aren’t profitable at this point and the more of their subscribers that they allow to call and get this offer, the more money they are going to lose.  I personally love the Tivo concept, but I also realize that there are other options out there now, and there will be even more very soon.  So, while I should probably take a few minutes to feel overcome with guilt, I really don’t have time.  I’ve got a ton of shows on the Tivo that I haven’t seen yet.