Dish today announced that its “Hopper” DVR with Sling is now available for all customers in the U.S.
While other DVRs allow TV watchers to fast-forward through annoying ads, the Hopper “autohop” feature allows Dish customers to skip entire commercial breaks with the press of a button. This doesn’t sit well with content creators, and both Fox and CBS have filed lawsuits against Dish due to the technology. CBS went so far as to prevent its website CNET from declaring the Hopper best in show at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
In a satiric bit of irony, Dish has also launched a TV commercial ad campaign that declares the death of TV commercials. In the first commercial, seen below, Dish says goodbye to both commercials and its “Boston Guys.”
“These lovable characters from Boston helped put the first generation of the ‘Hawpah’ on the map and made nearly three out of four consumers aware of the Hopper,” said James Moorhead, chief marketing officer at Dish. “This campaign takes the Boston family out of the house to show the world that only Hopper with Sling can provide a truly unique entertainment experience.”