TiVo looks to Verizon phones for TV recording

Verizon Wireless subscribers will access the new service, called TiVo Mobile, through Verizon's "Get it Now" menu, which also provides access to Verizon's V Cast video offering, music download service, ring tones and games. TiVo Mobile will be available this summer. Pricing will be announced when the service becomes available.

Details of the contract between Verizon and TiVo were not released.

Digital video recorders (DVRs) record TV programs onto a hard drive, allowing viewers to pause and rewind live television and fast-forward through recorded commercials.

TiVo subscribers can already program their DVRs remotely from the TiVo Web site and Yahoo's TV guide. Cell phone users with Web access also can program their phones via these mobile portals.

"This arrangement will allow the growing base of TiVo subscribers to integrate control of their TV life with the most widespread piece of consumer electronics, the wireless phone," Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, said in a statement.

The deal with Verizon Wireless is the latest in a series of new enhancements TiVo has made over the past six months to differentiate its products from other DVR products. Just last week, the company announced a new service, called KidZone, that allows parents to look for shows appropriate for their children and then separate that content from other shows recorded for adults.

TiVo has announced deals with mobile device makers, such as Apple Computer and Sony, to allow TiVo-recorded shows to be viewed on handheld devices like the iPod and PlayStation Portable. It also has introduced a service called TiVoToGo, which allows recorded video to be transferred and viewed on laptops.