• by Wayne Friedman , May 29, 2013

Looking to push the focus to the "primary" screen, Dish Network has started a social media app connected to its Hopper DVR unit.

The Englewood, Colo.-based satellite programming service says the Social app is the first set-top-box app where viewers can watch TV shows and follow social media posts on the same screen.

“Through our Social app, we’ve made it easier for consumers to follow social conversations and post in real-time without leaving their TV screen," stated Jimshade Chaudhari, director of product marketing and management at Dish. The Social app can access up to four Twitter and four Facebook accounts.

Some of its features include "Now Watching," which shows the Twitter feed relevant to the show or channel a user is currently watching, and "My Twitter," which displays a user’s personal Twitter feed with full Twitter functionality, including the ability to “favorite” a tweet, reply to a tweet, retweet a post and create a new Tweet.

There is also the "My Facebook" feature, which displays the user’s personal Facebook feed and also allows users to post a status update.

The Social app contains a "data bar" at the bottom of a TV screen where users can see the top areas in the country where people are tweeting; a program’s "sentiment" rating; and the percentage of those who are tweeting by gender and frequency.

Recently, Dish announced a Dish Anywhere mobile app, giving consumers the power to follow and post on Twitter and Facebook about shows they are viewing. There is also a Dish Explorer -- a second-screen app, which offers the ability for customers to track Twitter posts of fans of programs they are watching.

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