TiVo says its unreleased Roku and Apple TV apps are ‘on hold’

Last year at CES, TiVo said it would be launching apps for Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV sometime in 2019 that would let users watch live or recorded video without needing a separate TiVo Mini box. Now, a year later, TiVo still hasn’t released an app for any of those streaming devices, and you probably won’t see one soon. TiVo confirmed to TechHive that the Apple TV and Roku apps are “currently on hold,” and based on a TiVo’s executive comments, the Fire TV app doesn’t seem imminent, either.

TechHive learned that the apps might be having some trouble in an interview at CES with Ted Malone, TiVo’s VP of consumer products and services. Malone actually originally characterized the Apple TV and Roku apps as “in limbo,” but a TiVo spokesperson followed up with TechHive to clarify that the apps are actually “on hold.” (Semantics!)

TiVo’s spokesperson said that the Apple TV and Roku apps were put on hold because the company “re-prioritized several projects in order to focus on the launch of TiVo Stream 4K.” (The TiVo Stream 4K is a new $69 HDMI streaming dongle the company announced at this year’s CES that’s designed to compete with streaming sticks like Fire TV and Chromecast.)

The potential of a future Fire TV TiVo app seems to be a bit more complicated. Here is what Malone said about it, according to TechHive:

Malone wouldn’t say definitively that the apps have cancelled, and he believes Android TV support may arrive at some point as a tie-in to the TiVo Stream 4K, which runs Android TV. From there, adding Fire TV support wouldn’t be difficult because Fire TV apps are based on Android as well. Still, he didn’t give a timeline for either.

Based on Malone’s and TiVo’s comments, it seems like we shouldn’t expect to see TiVo apps for Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV in the near future. And if we ever do, their stream quality may not be great, at TiVo has already said they would be limited to 720p and 30fps.