Digital TV News

Spotify the difference: Virgin Media TiVo gets music app

Tuesday 29 November, 2011

By Kelvin Goodson

Exclusive Spotify app now available through Virgin Media TiVo means music lovers can access their favourite tunes through their TV.

An exclusive app for music streaming service Spotify will be made available to all Virgin Media TiVo customers from today.

The app will enable those subscribing to Virgin Media’s TiVo service to access millions of tracks and listen to their Spotify playlists through their television sets.

However, to do this Virgin Media TiVo customers will also need to subscribe to Spotify Premium, a pay monthly version of the service that removes the advertising and limitations that apply to the free service.

Virgin Media is the first provider to offer Spotify through broadband, mobile and now TV by bundling the service with TiVo, its “next-generation” TV service that enables users to pause and rewind “live” television, store programmes and access on-demand content.

Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, said: “The world of digital entertainment is continually changing and we’re always looking at ways we can bring our customers the best entertainment for their whole families.

“Our goal is to deliver a truly unique experience for our customers and we’re really excited about bringing Spotify to our TiVo service as part of our ongoing initiatives to develop the platform further with new features, applications and content.”

The app will automatically appear in the “Apps and Games” section of the TiVo service. Using TiVo’s built-in broadband connection, users will be able to stream music and browse artists, albums and their playlists as they would through a desktop computer or laptop with their TiVo remote control.

Andreas Liffgarden, global head of telecom business development for Spotify, added that “TV is now totally interactive” and believes that the partnership takes advantage of the way TV hardware has become more sophisticated: “What used to be a big cube is now a flat-screen connected to the speakers and surround sound system in your home.”