…AutoHop™ commercial-skipping feature after threats from broadcasters and responded to subsequent suits filed against it late last Thursday by CBS, FOX and NBC. Dave Shull, senior vice president of Programming for DISH, said, “The lawsuits filed by the networks essentially argue that ‘consumers must watch commercials.’ We find that proposition absurd and profoundly anti-consumer. Customers have been skipping commercials since the birth of the remote control, and the networks are arguing against that fact. Taken to the extreme, will the networks next ask consumers to stop changing channels? Collectively, the networks reap billions in retransmission fees—fees that are reflected in subscribers’ growing bills. For their money, consumers deserve to use content they pay for as they wish.
“AutoHop needs to be put in perspective: the majority of our viewers watch their primetime shows live or during the same evening—the time that is most valuable to advertisers. We chose to incorporate AutoHop as a next day feature and only if enabled by the consumer.”
