DISH NETWORK AND ECHOSTAR TO PAY TIVO $500 MILLION TO SETTLE LAWSUIT

Dish Network, EchoStar and TiVo have come to a settlement on their long running patent dispute (since 2006) that will see the satellite company pay $500 million to settle all ongoing litigation. We stopped covering the various court judgements in this case last year as each side continued to file one stay and injunction after another, but this time it's finally over. The most recent court judgement came April 20th in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and found EchoStar in contempt of an earlier injunction despite modifications to its DVR software.

The companies have licensed certain patents to each other, including the infamous Time Warp patent that was at the heart of the dispute. Details are in the press release after the break, but TiVo's scored an upfront $300 million cash payment (Dish Network is also reporting today it added 58,000 subscribers and had a net income of $549 million last quarter, we guess there was some loose change rolling around after its Blockbuster and DBSD purchases), with the remaining $200 million to be paid out between 2012 and 2017.

TIVO'S EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDER BREACHED

Epsilon, Tivo's email service provider, has been hacked. The breach apparently has compromised the security of some users names and email addresses. A rigorous investigation has concluded that no other personal data was exposed, however it's not just TiVo that's affected -- other big names, such as JPMorgan Chase, Citi, US Bank, Kroger, and Walgreens have also affected by the breach.

If you have subscribed to any of those company's email lists, you may want to consider using a spam filter.

TiVO PREMIERE NOW FREE....SORT OF

TiVo is opening up subsidized and partially subsidized pricing tiers to the entire US for those willing to chain themselves to a pricier $20 monthly fee. You can now get a TiVo Premiere for $0 on a two-year contract or $100 with a one-year arrangement, or pick up a TiVo Premiere XL for $300 on a one-year deal -- the same price the regular old 45-hour TiVo Premiere cost originally.

TiVo has also kept the original $12.95-a-month plans around in case you want to pay full price for your hardware, which would normally make better financial sense after about three years, if not for the fact that there are still lifetime subscriptions available for $400 if you're truly in it for the long haul. [Engadget]

TiVo GETTING OUT OF HARDWARE?

TiVo marketing VP Joe Miller suggested to PC Magazine their hardware business won't be the companies focus for long.  Miller also stated software is the "core competence," said it was "in our blood" and "the thing we do well," and even added that "the software is what we're all about."  With the plethora of DVR devices on the market, it is no surprise TiVo would move to focus on their outstanding software and license it to the hardware manufacturers. [Engadget]

DIRECTiVo HD DVR DELAYED AGAIN

Five years ago TiVo announced a HD DVR for DirecTV customers.  They reaffirmed this again two years ago.  Now TiVo marketing manager Joe Miller has announced the device will appear "early next year".  DirecTV customers can only sit and hope TiVo sticks to that promise. [Engadget]