Dish Social app brings Twitter, Facebook to Hopper DVRs
Dish is a little late to the social television party, but it has finally arrived with the aptly (if not creatively) named Social app. The app, available on Hopper DVRs, shows personal Facebook, Twitter or Now Watching feeds -- which displays tweets relevant to the show and channel being viewed -- in a right rail alongside the video window. Social also enables full tweeting functionality and the ability to post Facebook status updates to up to four accounts for either social network. Lastly, the app delivers data about the amount of Twitter action related to the program being watched, such as the number of tweets in the past hour and where those tweets are coming from. Not bad, eh? All you Dish customers no longer need a second screen to spew forth your digital vitriol the next time David Benioff and D.B. Weiss kill off your favorite resident of Westeros.
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Social Conversations on TV Made Possible by DISH with New Hopper App
Industry's first and only set-top app that delivers on-screen social content relevant to the show or channel a viewer is watching
Connect up to eight social media accounts to Hopper DVR and post from within the app to personal Twitter and Facebook accounts
Interact with Twitter feeds relevant to on-screen shows and follow personal Twitter or Facebook feeds
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DISH today 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 set-top box 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.
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.
Today's announcement builds upon DISH's focus on giving consumers the social functionality they crave from their TV-viewing experience. 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.
