DISH Enhances TV Control with Updates to DISH Explorer App

In response to consumer input, DISH added new functionality to its second-screen iPad app, DISH Explorer, giving customers using the Hopper™ Whole-Home HD DVR the ability to control the TV’s volume and power from their iPad. The app update, available immediately in the iTunes store, also brings users personalized program recommendations based on viewing habits.

Launched in 2013, DISH Explorer is a second-screen app that combines program-discovery tools, social media engagement and remote-control capabilities on the iPad. By highlighting the most popular programs on TV using real-time TV viewing trends and its integration with Facebook and Twitter, consumers have a more intuitive and social TV experience.

“Over the past year, DISH Explorer has become the highest-rated second-screen app for iPad, in part because we continue to make updates our customers want,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, Director of Product Management at DISH. “While DISH Explorer has had native control of Hopper capabilities such as search, record and channel navigation, consumers also want to use the app to turn their TVs on and off and control the volume, now they can.”

In addition to the TV control feature, DISH also added a new “Picked for Me” section offering personalized program recommendations based on viewing habits.

Since its introduction at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show, DISH Explorer has continued to grow in popularity. In its first year, active users of DISH Explorer have grown by 225 percent. The dramatic spike in the app’s use can be partially attributed to the growing adoption of second screens. According to a recent Nielsen survey, nearly half of smartphone and tablet owners use a second-screen while watching TV every day.
The updated version of the highly rated app that combines program-discovery tools, social media engagement and remote-control capabilities is available for iPads in the iTunes store.