Dish subscribers will soon be able to watch live satellite TV on their mobile devices at no extra cost.
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Dish Network Corp. is planning to offer the feature on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry devices in September and on phones using Google Inc.’s Android system in October.
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Subscribers will need special hardware. One option is Sling Media Inc.’s SlingBox, which retails for $180 to $300. Dish subscribers can also pay $200 to $400 to upgrade to Dish’s high-definition digital video recorder with SlingBox features; they’ll need to pay $10 a month for multiple DVR service, but they’ll get recording capabilities with it. Sling is owned by EchoStar Corp., whose chairman is Dish CEO Charles Ergen.
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Viewers using Dish’s new app can switch channels remotely. But if someone at home is watching one channel, the person using a mobile device elsewhere has to watch the same thing, unless the DVR being used has a second tuner. SlingBox also can access programs recorded on your DVR, but the box itself can’t record.
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The offering from Dish is the latest in the race for video supremacy among subscription TV providers. With most TV viewing households already signed up for a cable, satellite TV or video service from a phone company, companies have to step up promotions to lure subscribers. These include free HD for life from Dish and DirecTV Inc., and a two-year rate guarantee from Comcast Corp. on its HD TV, Internet and phone plan.
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Dish already makes free apps for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to let customers program their digital video recorders, browse TV shows and use their devices as a remote control. Dish will update that to allow for live streaming. The BlackBerry and Android apps will already have the feature enabled when they become available.
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Dish can offer the live…