Do you use a Tablo DVR to record shows and movies with your antenna? Well, it has a new parent company now. Back in January of 2022, E.W. Scripps, owner of many broadcast TV stations, bought Nuvyyo, the maker of Tablo DVRs, reportedly for less than $14 million, according to a filing from E.W. Scripps.
Tablo DVRs have become one of the most popular DVR for antenna owners over the last few years, with a very popular auto commercial skip ability and an easy-to-use interface. So far, Tablo has sold over 200,000 Tablo DVRs.
In a statement sent to Cord Cutters News, Nuvyyo confirmed the sale saying, “since its inception, Tablo has always evolved to meet the changing needs of TV viewers. We will continue to evolve in a customer-focused way. Our long-term plans, which we will reveal later this year, will create an improved experience for new and existing Tablo users.”
Scripps says Tablo DVRs are a major part of its push into over-the-air adoption, especially with the adoption of the Nextgen ATSC 3.0 OTA TV.
Tablo has already been working on a next-gen DVR for the new ATSC 3.0 standard, but it has run into issues, and Tablo has refunded pre-orders.
“We had hoped to ship pre-orders before the end of 2022 but were obviously unable to meet that target. ATSC 3.0 is a very new standard and certifications and other technical issues have caused unforeseen delays.” Grant Hall, the CEO of Nuvyyo the parent company of Tablo, said in the email to customers.
Grant Hall went on to say that the delay and refund of the new ATSC 3.0 DVR were caused by the new DRM that can be used to encrypt ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. “While this feature is not used widely yet, we are committed to ensuring this Tablo DVR is fully compliant with all aspects of the ATSC 3.0 standard. This includes support for DRM and certification from relevant standards bodies.”
In a statement sent to Cord Cutters News, Tablo confirmed the DVR is still in development. “Yes, we are still working very hard to bring the Tablo ATSC 3.0 QUAD HDMI DVR product to market.” Laura Slater, head of PR for Tablo, went on to say, “However, without a clear timeline for the completion of final technical and certification tasks, we felt it was only right to cancel and refund current pre-orders for the product.”
It will be interesting to see what happens next, but for over a year, Scripps has owned Tablo, so no major changes should be expected.