The Dish Network, in its continuing effort to attract new viewers, introduced a new DVR called the Hopper earlier this year. The Hopper’s main appeal is that it allows you to skip past commercials entirely, and unsurprisingly, TV networks aren’t very happy about this. But guess who else is unhappy?
At a Wednesday hearing on video distribution held by the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, [Rep. John Dingell, D–Clueless] complained that the service will allow potential voters to skip past important commercial messages.
“I’ve got an election coming up, like all my colleagues,” Dingell said, during his questioning of Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen. “We all put political ads on the local stations to reach our constituents. The Hopper potentially limits the ability of every member of this subcommittee to reach constituents to help them make up their minds on Election Day.
“Do you understand and appreciate the concerns that the politicians up here on the dais and other politicians everywhere will feel about that, yes or no?” Dingell asked.
Clearly, the Dish Network has gone too far. Skipping past Axe body spray ads is one thing, but skipping past John Dingell’s reelection ads? That can’t be tolerated.
This is a surprising lapse. The Dish folks should have known that they were violating one of the fundamental rules of American business: you can annoy consumers all you want, but never, never, never annoy congressmen. That’s the royal road to ruin.
