The electronics maker will incorporate TiVo's personal digital recording technology into its line of consumer electronics products worldwide. Sony said Thursday that it has signed a deal that will allow it to incorporate TiVo's personal digital recording technology into its line of consumer electronics products worldwide. TiVo's technology lets consumers record TV shows onto a hard drive so they can view them later. Consumers typically pay a monthly $9.95 fee, or $249 fee for the lifetime of a recorder, to access the service.

Specific financial terms of the deal were not released, but TiVo Chief Executive Mike Ramsay said in a conference call Thursday that the pact should bring in $10 million to $15 million in revenue during the next 12 months. The Sony agreement may help the troubled company live up to its early high-flying promise by boosting revenue.

"This deal is an endorsement of our technology and patents and will bring in revenue and significant opportunities going forward," said Morgan Guenther, TiVo's senior vice president of business development. "It enables us to proliferate our technology, and it's a much broader deal than other previous ones (for stand-alone recorders) with Sony."