Lower Q2 CE Revenue at Rovi Offset Partly by Multiyear Verizon Pact

Rovi volume slipped 2 percent in Q2 year-on-year to $125.2 million with an increase in service provider revenue offsetting declines in consumer electronics and analog content protection revenue, said the company’s Thursday earnings release. Rovi CEO Tom Carson attributed better than expected results to the renewal of an IP licensing agreement with Verizon that runs into next decade. The company swung to a $9.4 million loss compared with $3.3 million profit in Q2 2015, it said. It expects to close its buy of TiVo this quarter. Rovi has eight of the top 10 U.S. pay-TV providers under license, six of which came on board in the past six quarters, said Carson. The company projects 2016 revenue of $490 million to $520 million. Rovi guides are in use in 142 million pay-TV households, excluding prepaid licenses, said the company. During the quarter, Dish implemented voice remote capability powered by Rovi’s Conversation Services, Rovi said, and the Fan TV app launched voice search on iOS, Android mobile and Android TV platforms. Japan's KDDI adopted Rovi G-Guide HTML on its new Android TV based IPTV set-top box, and Evolution Digital announced its latest set-top box with an eGuide interactive guide based on Rovi’s Fan TV platform, it said. Shares closed up Friday 2.3 percent to $18.81.