• by Aaron Baar , July 6, 2017

Alexa is moving even deeper into the living room, at least for Dish customers. 

The satellite-service provider recently introduced integration with the voice-controlled home assistant, making it easier to find programming, get information and more through the company’s internet-connected “Hopper” DVRs. 

“Pay-TV remotes and user-interfaces are notoriously difficult to use, which means consumers cannot get to the content they love easily,” Jay Roth, chief marketing officer at Dish, tells Marketing Daily. “With Dish's Hopper/Alexa integration, that is a non-issue.”

To tout the innovation, the company is now airing two ads (from agency Camp + King) depicting how easy and seamless it is. Using the company’s “spokeslistener” character, one ad shows a family preparing for movie night, even when they can’t find the television remote. The second spot shows two elderly men using the voice control to find a sporting event without bickering over the remote’s complexity. 

“While others have voice-control [with their remote], you still need to use a remote control. Dish's Hopper/Alexa integration is the only hands-free TV option in the pay-TV category,” Roth says. “The spots demonstrate how easily the technology works to find content, and also to control the Hopper DVR.”

Dish introduced its "spokeslistener" character earlier this year, as a way to depict the company's commitment to being a "customer-centric" entity. In advertising, the character actively listens to Pay-TV customer complaints and reacts differently than many of them have come to expect from their providers.

The campaign will run through the summer around the country on both national cable networks and in local markets, Roth says.