DISH Explorer Second-Screen App for iPad Announced

DISH introduced something new to complement its new Hopper and Joey whole home DVR system—the DISH Explorer app for iPad. This is an intuitive "second-screen" app that lets you find programs, engage social media and also perform remote-control functions. While customers are already using tablets while watching TV, the Explorer app melds the two experiences into one seamless event. The app will be available for FREE from the Apple store starting tomorrow (January 7th).

DISH Explorer expands the functionality of the Hopper by allowing customers to:

• Discover popular and trending shows, including sporting events, across hundreds of live-TV channels, DVR recordings and on-demand programs;
• Engage with fans of the same show over Twitter and Facebook using the iPad;
• Control the Hopper from an iPad, including channel guide navigation and DVR management;
• Search live TV, DVR and on-demand programs using iPad’s keyboard instead of the remote control.

The new app recommends shows and reveals popular programs by cross-referencing social media television viewing trends and real-time viewership data from DISH’s customer base. It also allows customers to connect with the social media community about their favorite shows. Using the app, customers can log in to Twitter and Facebook and, in real-time, comment and track posts from fans of the shows they are watching.While the trending is cool, the interactivity in social media has proven to be a tough nut to crack.

For sports, Explorer seems to be a bit more on-target, incorporating Thuuz ratings to identify the hottest games on TV and providing viewers with real-time sports stats when watching live events on the Hopper. The Explorer’s view into trending data can signal sporting events that are quickly becoming ‘must see’ events. For baseball, users could, for example, see the potential no-hitters, shut-outs and upsets forming live before the sports recap on the evening news.

DISH Explorer also connects to an Internet-connected Hopper via Wi-Fi and eliminates the need for the remote control. The app makes it easy to navigate all Hopper programming options with the iPad. The DISH Explorer app will be available FREE in Apple’s App Store on January 7.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.