Charlie Ergen, Dish Network CEO, says the new Auto Hop feature that allows viewers to skip past commercials is “competitively necessary” due to the wide availability of cheap and free Internet video.
Broadcasters are making their programming available on the Internet through their own websites and other services like Hulu. This wide availability threatens the pay TV ecosystem.
Ergen would like to force the networks to develop “more meaningful” ads that people would want to see.
With his professional gambler background, Ergen sees his business as a big card game implying that he is well versed in bluffing with the networks to win his hand.
“If the ad is skipped, the consumer likes it, but it’s not necessarily good for me and it’s not necessarily good for the broadcaster because I’m in the same ecosystem as him,” Ergen said. “So we have to figure out how the broadcaster benefits, we benefit and the consumer continues to feel like he gets a fair deal. So maybe [the consumer] pays a little bit less for ‘retrans,’ his bill doesn’t go up by double digits every year… That’s an interesting conversation to have.”
Charlie Ergen, Dish Network CEO, says the new Auto Hop feature that allows viewers to skip past commercials is “competitively necessary” due to the wide availability of cheap and free Internet video.
No Comments Yet
You can be the first to comment!
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.