Pizza and more programmes from TVNZ's new box

Television New Zealand says TiVo, a device which enables users to receive all free-to-air digital TV channels, watch movies on demand, and pause and rewind live TV, will be available by the end of the year.

TiVo also enables the user to access services such as broadband, pizza ordering, shopping and weather forecasts through their television.

Subscribers will pay a monthly fee.

TiVo is also developing smart technology which enables the machine to select programmes for recording it calculates are likely to appeal to users based on earlier recording selections.

TVNZ has acquired a 33 per cent stake in Hybrid Television Services, the exclusive licensee of TiVo in Australia and New Zealand.

It has also secured a deal to obtain programmes for TiVo from Disney studios.

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis said TiVo was another step in TVNZ's transition from a traditional broadcaster to a multi-platform media company with diverse income streams.

TiVo will provide direct competition for pay network Sky TV's growing network. The product is comparable to My Sky and its later version My Sky HDi which give viewers a plethora of digital channels and eliminate long advertisement breaks.

Free-to-air TV was losing viewers to Sky, which has 759,069 subscribers and is on target to have 80,000 My Sky HDi subscribers by June next year.