Interesting Tidbits

Discuss the awesomeness of the Prevue Channel, Prevue Interactive, Prevue Networks/United Video Satellite Group, TV Guide Inc., etc. right here.
PajamaDarkness
Posts: 127
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:24 pm
Location: Will I ever tell you? No.

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by PajamaDarkness »

Here's an update:
PajamaDarkness wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2016 8:17 pmTiVo was aquired by Rovi for $1.1 billion.
To conincide with the TiVo purchase, the building had removed the Rovi branding from the building and replaced it with the modern-day TiVo logo.
Image Suprisingly, something actually was put in the frame of the old TV Guide sign:
Image(best image I could get)
The satellites seem to still be there, however.
Also, here's a Street View pic from December 2007, which shows the TV-Guide sign where the TiVo/Rovi sign would've been later on:
Image
PajamaFrix
Prevuing since 2015.
AriX
Site Admin
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:32 pm
Contact:

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by AriX »

Nice update! Believe it or not, I'm currently in Tulsa, OK and visited the building on Thursday, so I have some images to throw into the mix.

IMG_4832-small.jpg
IMG_4832-small.jpg (461.19 KiB) Viewed 5658 times
IMG_6166-small.jpg
IMG_6166-small.jpg (478.76 KiB) Viewed 5658 times
Here's a close-up of the satellite dish. I believe this dish uplinked the Prevue/TV Guide feed. Presumably it's now unused as Pop moved out of the building entirely about a year ago (and may have stopped using it for this purpose earlier than that).

IMG_2835-small.jpg
IMG_2835-small.jpg (185.47 KiB) Viewed 5658 times
Signs of the building's former purpose aren't hard to find. In the truck delivery area, there is a "TVGN" sign. Upstairs in the TiVo office, there's a room labeled "Motorola IPG Test Lab" (they probably still do IPG development there). And on the front entrance of the building there's still a sign calling out UVSG by name!

IMG_9564-small.jpg
IMG_9564-small.jpg (410.27 KiB) Viewed 5658 times
Here's a photo of me wandering upstairs:

IMG_0057-small.jpg
IMG_0057-small.jpg (359.46 KiB) Viewed 5658 times
The building is awesome. One of the prettiest office buildings I've seen. I should have taken pictures of the interior. Apparently in the past, it was a shopping mall. I desperately wish I had gotten there before TV Guide left!
woddfellow2
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 1:50 pm
Contact:

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by woddfellow2 »

I remember passing that building in May 2011 (when I still lived in the area), and it still had the TV Guide and Rovi logos on it at the time.

Additionally, some of the 1989 film UHF was shot there (search for "Kensington Galleria").
—xoddf2 | wlair.us.to
WeatherSTARIII
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 7:01 pm

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by WeatherSTARIII »

That's pretty cool that you got to visit the TiVo Building in person. I've never been to Tulsa in person before. I wonder if you had to get a special pass just for touring the place? Also, was the "Motorola IPG Test Lab" room and the truck delivery section still off limits to visitors? Was there even security? I could bet that Rovi/TiVo likely scrapped scraped every last remaining legacy Prevue/TV Guide computer units many years ago ever since they took over the place. I could even bet some of the employees were kind of confused at first by mentioning any legacy Prevue/TV Guide related stuff. :lol:
WeatherSTAR III:
Prevue Guide/EPG fan and classic Weather Channel fan
PajamaDarkness
Posts: 127
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:24 pm
Location: Will I ever tell you? No.

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by PajamaDarkness »

Yet another update: Turns out TiVo Corporation (Rovi/TV Guide) was acquired yet again, this time by Xperi Corporation. I do wonder if the building will get yet another change?
PajamaFrix
Prevuing since 2015.
nwgatwcfan
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 5:52 pm

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by nwgatwcfan »

I did some research on both homes of EPG/Prevue/TVGC.

The original home of 3801 S. Sheridan Ave in Tulsa is up for sale. For a little over $4.525 mil, you can own the original headquarters of EPG. Currently, Platt College is leasing the space. The building was built in 1982, which would be just after EPG started its business.

Secondly, I was able to find that UVSG didn't move into the Lewis Ave location until early 1993. If you search for Kensington Galleria, which is the name of the mixed-use mall, search for an article from tulsaworld.com and subject "Dillards Leaving Kensington Galleria." Per this article,
The converted area was renamed the Kensington Office Center. A little more than 30,000 square feet will be retained for retail use. United Video Satellite Group, a locally based satellite communications and marketing company, announced a couple weeks ago it will move into the Kensington Business Center. It will occupy 105,000 square feet.
The article date is Jan. 27, 1993. Interesting enough, this would be the same time that the blue grid came out. So that would mean that all of the development of both the a2-black and a2 grid would have been done prior to the move.

And a last research tidbit, I found a magazine article online where UVSG also housed Zephyr Weather Information Service in this same location back in 1985. This would be the weather data information that would have fed some of the Character Generators available to cable systems. One would wonder if this is also where the weather data information came from to serve Prevue Weather?

Steven
nwgatwcfan
AriX
Site Admin
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:32 pm
Contact:

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by AriX »

Sharing a quick new tidbit... came across this Sneak Prevue newspaper ad recently, from all the way back in 1992! https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3130414 ... l-ad-1992/
img.jpeg
img.jpeg (25.07 KiB) Viewed 3893 times
woddfellow2
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 1:50 pm
Contact:

Re: Interesting Tidbits

Post by woddfellow2 »

nwgatwcfan wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 12:47 pm [...]

And a last research tidbit, I found a magazine article online where UVSG also housed Zephyr Weather Information Service in this same location back in 1985. This would be the weather data information that would have fed some of the Character Generators available to cable systems. One would wonder if this is also where the weather data information came from to serve Prevue Weather?

Steven
nwgatwcfan
At 4m41s in this interview, the EPG and Zephyr Weather Service are mentioned.
—xoddf2 | wlair.us.to
Post Reply