TiVo to offer screening service

TiVo Inc., the pioneer of digital video recorders, said Thursday it will introduce a service to help parents choose programs that are prescreened as appropriate for children.

The service, which will be available in June, relies on recommendations from two family-focused organizations, Common Sense Media and the Parents Television Council, TiVo Chief Executive Officer Thomas Rogers said in an interview. Parents can choose from a menu of shows approved by each group.

The free feature from TiVo underscores the pressure from the Federal Communications Commission for the television industry to provide better screening options. The KidZone service may persuade consumers to pick TiVo over other digital video recorders that don't offer such screening, Rogers said.

Blocking inappropriate TV shows "is a massive issue," Rogers said. The service will help differentiate TiVo from a generic video recorder, he said.

The cable television industry plans to offer packages of family-oriented programs in the next few months after FCC Chairman Kevin Martin urged providers to adopt industry decency standards. Martin Wednesday said the plan doesn't give viewers enough control over channels they consider inappropriate.

Shares of TiVo were unchanged at $5.65 Thursday in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares have increased 10 percent this year.

With TiVo's service, consumers can limit children's viewing to a selection of programs pre-approved by Common Sense Media and Parents Television Council. Parents can switch off the service to watch their own shows.

KidZone is an alternative to the V-chip in many television sets, which use TV industry ratings to screen programming for children. The V-chip doesn't allow parents to actively choose the best children's TV shows for their kids, TiVo said.

Common Sense Media offers reviews of television series, movies, books, music and games on its Web site, www.commonsensemedia.org, while Parents Television Council provides research and publications about the increase of sex and violence in entertainment on its site, www.parentstv.org.