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Dish Working on System That Lets Advertisers Bid on Shows in Real Time

Jan 8, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Dish Network is working on a feature that would allow for last-minute auctions of ad space by allowing advertisers to see what viewers are tuning into in real time, reports Advertising Age, citing a Bloomberg report.

The feature, called "What’s Hot Now," would build on a viewership-tracking service in its Hopper set-top boxes, the story says. Hopper users can see what other Dish viewers are watching and then switch to the top programs.

The company is hoping to develop a new way to sell advertisements by collecting real-time data, according to Warren Schlichting, Dish’s senior VP of media sales and analytics.

"Dish has unfairly gotten an anti-ad reputation, when in fact Dish is just trying to innovate," he said.

Dish could auction off commercials and insert them just before they air, according to the piece. That would provide more accurate information at a time when many viewers skip ads, Schlichting said.

Dish could also charge higher rates for shows that are surprisingly popular, the story notes.

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