Dish Becomes First TV Provider to Integrate with Alexa
Dish Network customers with Alexa-enabled devices will no longer have to search for their TV remote as of yesterday. The TV provider rolled out a feature yesterday that will allow customers to search for programs, change channels, pause, rewind and fast forward television using voice commands with Amazon’s Alexa. The new technology is available to any internet-connected Hopper or Wally customers who own an Alexa-enabled device. Customers just need to sync their Dish Network account and pair their device within the Alexa app to get started.
Keeping Up with the Competition
While Dish Network may be the first TV provider to integrate with Alexa, it is not the first in its industry to offer voice control and search functionality. Streaming services like Roku, Android TV and Apple TV already offer similar features and other TV providers like Comcast have introduced remotes with voice control capabilities. Dish Network needs to keep up with the competition to keep its customers happy or else, they like almost 20% of Americans, might too cut the cable cord and rely on a streaming service instead. Offering voice control with Alexa is one way for Dish to keep up with the new standards its rivals have set for the industry. Although, its customers do need an Alexa-enabled device to access the new feature. Some could still be left searching for the remote.
