Dish AutoHop to zap Super Bowl game, not commercials
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Dish Network roiled the TV industry with its AutoHop technology that enables subscribers to automatically delete commercials from blocks of prime-time network programming.
On Thursday, the Colorado satellite TV giant introduced a new AutoHop gimmick just in time for Sunday’s Super Bowl extravaganza.
“We’re putting a twist on the commercial-skipping feature so that instead of automatically skipping commercials, customers will have the option to instead skip the game and watch only the commercials,” a Dish spokesman said.
The feature, dubbed Reverse AutoHop, will be available to Monday morning ad quarterbacks who want to watch replays of the most popular commercials that run during the NFL championship.
Fittingly, the feature will be available to users on Monday, the day after the big game. In years past, the conversation following the Super Bowl has quickly switched to debates about which advertisers had the most clever commercials.
Dish cautioned that in order for customers to watch a block of commercials, they must enable the PrimeTime Anytime feature for NBC prior to the game.
NBC, which is broadcasting this year’s game, said Wednesday that it has sold out its advertising inventory at record levels.
The network charged an average of $4.5 million for each 30-second spot that runs during the game. This year’s roster includes more than 70 advertisers in the Super Bowl.
Twitter: @MegJamesLAT
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