It turns out that consumers like the idea of watching TV shows with no other ads. And, surprise, the television networks are less than thrilled.
On Friday, news was continuing to emerge about a flurry of lawsuits between Dish Network, which last week released a tool to let its DVR customers do exactly that, and the major television networks.
It's a battle over a new technology tool. But, in some ways, it's a microcosm of the fight for the future of television and how we watch it.
"With Dish's aggressive move to please the end customer rather than advertisers, it's clear that in the fight for TV revenue the gloves have finally come off," James L. McQuivey, an analyst for Forrester Research, told The New York Times. "The fact that Dish would be willing to anger some of its most important content partners just goes to show how desperate these times we live in really are."
Two weeks ago, Dish rolled out Auto Hop, a feature for its DISH DVR that lets users who subscribe automatically skip ads while watching recorded shows.
The Networks need to come to terms with this; this is what consumers want. Ever since the first time I ever sat down as a kid to watch TV, there hasn’t been a day yet where I didn’t wish I could skip commercials. When I got a VCR I recorded my favorite shows and fast forwarded through the commercials, and the DVR was even better. Auto Hop has perfected it. This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. I’m an employee beta-tester for Dish so I’ve had the Hopper since before it was released to the public, but Auto Hop is by far my favorite aspect. I love it.
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