Dish Network’s Hopper Fights the Future of Traditional Advertising

Posted by Jon Thomas, 30 May 2012

The commercials for Dish Network’s ad-skipping DVR, the Hopper, are quite memorable and humorous to a native of Massachusetts, like me. The actors have thick Boston accents, and they repeatedly pronounce the name of the device the way any good Red Sox fan would: “Hop-ah.”

It’s ironic, though, that the Hopper’s commercials are so memorable. The device’s primary function is to eliminate commercials altogether. The Hopper automatically records the entire prime-time lineups for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. With a little user programming, however, many digital video recorders (DVRs) can do that. What sets the Hopper apart is that it enables playback completely sans commercials (versus fast-forwarding over them). Score another point for ad-slaying technology in the post-advertising age.

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Three Ways the Second Screen Is Shaping the Future of Television

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 23 Feb 2012

Have you heard of the second screen? If not and you’re a marketer of media, you’d better listen up and learn fast; a number of television networks and individual programs have started taking this concept seriously and are, as a result, tightly weaving audiences into a more dynamic viewing experience. If fantastic recent examples like NBC’s The Voice, CBS’s 54th Grammy Award ceremonies and WGN America’s syndication work continue to crop up, the second screen will soon enough become your new first priority.

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Super Bowl Alchemy: Ads Become Content

Posted by Kirk Cheyfitz, 02 Feb 2009
At the end of this post, I bravely name the best ad of Super Bowl 43. Hint: NBC got no revenue from this particular ad. Long before the game began, CBS began Super Bowl Sunday by understanding the day much better than NBC. The famously laid-back, magazine-style show Sunday Morning was marking its own 30th anniversary. Part of the celebration was a discussion of the cultural significance of Sunday in American life.
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