They are still locked in dispute behind closed doors over a retransmission contract, but NBCUniversal and Dish Network have put down their legal swords over the ad-skipping tech the satellite company introduced several years back. This deal joins Fox’s lawsuit-ending agreement in February and the settlement CBS and Dish came to in December 2014.
Fox’s American Idol XIII has come up with a novel way to prevent viewers from ad-skipping via DVR or wandering out of the room during commercials. Suppose they kept the cameras rolling backstage during the commercials, then let viewers see the goings on, live, on a split-screen during “select commercial breaks”?
Apple has a new trick up its sleeve as it tries to launch a long-awaited television service: technology that allows viewers to skip commercials and that pays media companies for the skipped views. For more than a year, Apple has been seeking rights from cable companies and television networks for a service that would allow users to watch live and on-demand television over an Apple set-top box or TV. Talks have been slow and proceeding in fits and starts, but things seem to be heating up.
The satellite provider’s CEO, Mike White, points out that his company bought technology similar to Dish’s five years ago but says it hasn’t seen a demand for it yet.
