Dish Network said it is integrating its Hopper DVR platform with two Alexa-powered devices – the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot – in a way that will let subs navigate the TV service using voice control.
Dish, the first MVPD to announce direct compatibility with Amazon Alexa, said the integration will let subs to ask Alexa to navigate, search and “quick play” TV content on all generations of its internet-connected Hopper DVRs, based on channel, title, actor and genre. Dish expects to launch the feature in the first half of 2017.
When launched, the feature will support a wide range of spoken commands, such as “Go to ESPN,” “Tune to AMC,” “Find comedy movies,” and “Watch Game of Thrones season 1, episode 2.”
“We constantly evaluate emerging technology, like Alexa, and its potential to improve how people watch and control their TVs,” Niraj Desai, Dish’s vice president of product management, said in a statement. "This allows us to design strategic roadmaps and deliver products that make TV more valuable, at no extra cost to subscribers.”
