Macrovision Keeps Turnaround Moving

CEO Fred Amoroso said Wednesday that Macrovision will measure its success in 2008 by new contracts among its four customer groups: cable and satellite operators, consumer electronics brands, portals, and content producers, such as movie studios.

Among the new contracts announced for its software or programming guides, Sony(SNE Quote) is integrating TV Guide Onscreen into television sets; Nintendo will build a TV programming option into the Wii; device maker Umax Systems licensed patents for set-top boxes and TVs; and TiVo(TIVO Quote) expanded its use of Macrovision patents worldwide.

Revenue is recognized after consumer electronic products are shipped, and Macrovision's growth will be determined by the popularity of a brand's product, Amoroso said. The company does not expect to see significant product shipments until 2009. "We are still in early phases of these opportunities."

Also, within the past week AT&T(T Quote) began offering to the domestic market a mobile TV system licensing Macrovision patents, Amoroso said. During the quarter, more than 20 customers licensed the company's metadata software, which is embedded into DVDs.

Another reason the company is bullish on its future: Macrovision made a bet in 2007 on what has since become the winner of the DVD-format wars. The company's BD+ software, acquired last year, is a key component of Blu-ray content security. Budge said prospects for the company's content-protection business "are brightening since Blu-ray won the format war."

One studio has signed a contract for BD+, while another two movie studios are testing the software, Amoroso said.