Dish Network, the second-largest US satellite provider, is developing a feature that would let advertisers see what people are watching in real time, setting the stage for last-minute auctions of ad space.
The company is looking to build on a viewership-tracking service introduced in November on its Hopper set-top boxes. The feature, “What’s Hot Now,” allows Hopper users to see what other Dish customers are watching and flip to the most popular programs.
By collecting real-time data via set-top boxes, Dish may develop a new way for the industry to sell ads, Warren Schlichting, Dish’s senior vice president of media sales and analytics, said. The move also could improve the company’s relationship with advertisers, the victims of Dish technology to skip commercials.
“Dish has unfairly gotten an anti-ad reputation, when in fact Dish is just trying to innovate,” he said. “This is another really interesting potential innovation.”
Giving advertisers live data on what customers are watching could let Dish auction off commercials and have them inserted seconds before they air.
More than $63 billion will be spent on TV ads in 2013, according to ZenithOptimedia estimates.