Don’t worry, nobody was harmed in this killing. The DVR was introduced yesterday by Dish Networks, and it kills commercials. On the other hand, if you’re in the advertising business, you might be seriously harmed by this move. The Wall Street Journal has the details:
The new “Auto Hop” feature comes on a DVR dubbed the “Hopper,” a device that has been available to subscribers since March. With Auto Hop, viewers see a black screen momentarily where the ads were broadcast, or a glimpse of the first frame of the first commercial. Then the show resumes. Consumers merely have to click an on-screen Auto Hop button before a show to enable the feature.
Commercial-free TV comes at a cost. The Hopper costs 10 bucks a month (a regular Dish DVR costs $6), and there’s a little bit of a catch. The skipping feature will only work “after 1 a.m. the day after [shows] air,” so if you still want to get your Glee on the same night as the live-viewing public, you’ll still have to deal with commercials. Dish is touting this as a “holy grail” for TV viewers. I’m still holding out, however, for the DVR usb stick that I can just plug into my neck, which will give me the ability to flawlessly quote Omar, Walter White, and Sue Sylvester.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
