TiVo's new TiVoToGo service, which was announced last Monday, has some TV and film studio executives considering legal action, according to an article on Variety's Web site. Reporter Michael Learmonth said that several executives privately expressed their displeasure to him.

An NBC Universal spokesman said on the record: "TiVo appears to be acting unilaterally, disregarding established rights of content owners to participate in decisions regarding the distribution and exploitation of their content. This unilateral action creates the risk of legal conflict instead of contributing to the constructive exploitation of digital technology that can rapidly provide new and exciting experiences for the consumer."

Not everyone is angry, however: Warner Bros. home entertainment group president Kevin Tsujihara said his company is "excited about the fact that people are buying portable devices and are looking for video content on them. It's potentially a huge market for us."

Mr. Learmonth noted: "Ironically, controversy comes a week after the Big Six networks declared that DVRs actually benefit the broadcast biz because they generate more viewership for the hit shows." He also said that the software required by users to take advantage of TiVoToGo will cost US$15-$30. A Mac version is in development, and a TiVo spokesperson told The Mac Observer earlier in November that it would be released from mid-to-late 2006.

Jim Denney, TiVo's vice-president of product marketing, said his company "will reach out to people to help them understand our perspective."

Thanks to PVRblog for the link.