NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - TiVo, the maker of digital video recorders, reported Tuesday that losses grew in the first quarter even as total subscribers rose sharply.

San Jose, Calif.-based TiVo, whose digital video recording service lets users pause live TV and save massive amounts of programming, posted a net loss of $9.1 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a loss of $7.9 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier.

Net revenues for the quarter ended April 30 were $34.5 million.

Despite the quarterly loss, TiVo said consumer demand remains strong. The company added a record 264,000 new subscriptions, bringing to approximately 1.6 million the total number of TiVo subscribers.

Mike Ramsay, TiVo's CEO, attributed the growth partly to a company pledge in March to invest $50 million in acquiring new subscribers. "We believe increasing our investment to accelerate growth of these high-value customers will result in greater financial returns over the long term, beginning with achieving sustainable profitability by the end of next fiscal year," Ramsay said in a statement.

Management said Tuesday it hopes to add as many as 300,000 more new subscribers in the second quarter, which ends July 31.

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In the short-term at least, the focus on adding subscribers is going to weigh down profits. TiVo's losses are expected to widen further in the current quarter. Wall Street analysts forecast an average second-quarter loss of 22 cents a share, up from seven cents a share a year earlier, according to earnings tracker First Call.

TiVo (TIVO: Research, Estimates), whose stock trades on Nasdaq, announced results after the exchange closed for the day. Company shares fell 11 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $7.45 in after-hours trading.