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DISH… It’s A Social Thing… (SatBroadcasting™—Apps)

[SatNews] DISH has launched Social, the latest in a series of new apps for the Hopper® Whole-Home HD DVR, gives consumers the power to join social conversations about their favorite shows on their TV screen. DISH’s Social app on Hopper is the first STB application capable of providing contextually-relevant social feeds. Fans can multitask between watching a show on TV and following social posts about it on the same screen.


“Last year, Twitter saw 32 million Americans tweet about TV programming, an incredible display of consumer interest in wanting a more social experience from TV,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, director of product marketing and management at DISH. “Through our Social app, we’ve made it easier for consumers to follow social conversations and post in real-time without leaving their TV screen.”

The new Social app is accessible via DISH’s “quick launch” bar (to access, press the blue button on remote control) on the Hopper. Customers can link up to four Twitter and four Facebook accounts to the app. Viewers have three options for the type of content displayed in the status bar, which is located on the right side of the TV screen when the app is open:

  • Now Watching: shows the Twitter feed relevant to the show or channel the user is currently watching
  • My Twitter: displays the user’s personal Twitter feed (if logged-in) and gives them full Twitter functionality, including the ability to “Favorite” a tweet, reply to a tweet, retweet a post and create a new Tweet
  • My Facebook: displays the user’s personal Facebook feed (also requires log-in) and gives users the ability to post a status update, with the option of selecting one of several pre-drafted, easy-to-use updates
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The Social app also contains a data bar at the bottom of the viewer’s TV screen that displays stats and relevant information related to the program being watched. Displayed information includes stats about the top areas in the country where people are Tweeting about the program, the program’s sentiment rating, percentage of Tweeters by gender and frequency of Tweets.

Recently, DISH also announced enhancements to its DISH Anywhere™ mobile app that give consumers the power to follow and post on Twitter and Facebook about shows they are viewing. Earlier this year, DISH announced the DISH Explorer second-screen app, which includes social features such as the ability for customers to track Twitter posts of fans of programs they are watching, and post directly to their Twitter and Facebook accounts from their iPad.