TiVo, Shares Double IPO Price

Customized television programming service TiVo Inc. more than doubled its initial public offering price Thursday after soaring 162 percent at the open share price of $16 to $42 ñ up from the expected price of $11 to $13 per share. The initial offering was 5.5 million shares through lead underwriter Credit Suisse First Boston. By the close of Nasdaq trading, TiVo shares lost their strength falling to $29-15/16, up $13-15/16 from the IPO price.Generally, analysts argue that TiVo is a complicated subscription-based service in which users can customize their TV programming. The device uses a computer hard disk rather than a cassette tape to record shows, pause live broadcasts, fast-forward through commercials and record programs according to a personal menu of preferences. TiVo is on the cutting edge of future TV interactivity and enjoys strategic relationships with America Online Inc. and Sony Corp. The potential is huge, though not a straightforward story to convey to the 98 million households with television sets that could benefit from a personal video recorder (PVR). As such TiVoís success or failure will be a good indicator of consumer acceptance of TV interactivity.