DISH Network (DISH) To Boost Integrated Advertising Business

DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) has entered into a partnership with comScore to measure the effectiveness of addressable advertising campaigns across its legacy pay-TV service using Hopper set-top box and its next-generation Sling TV service, which provides online TV streaming (OTT) on various handheld gadgets.

comScore is creating a cross-platform addressable measurement system for DISH Network. comScore's linear TV addressable advertising measurement are being used by leading ad agencies and brands for more than five years now. The new technology will operate in the same way while extending measurement of addressable campaign delivery across multiple platforms. According to comScore, addressable advertising on TV is expected to grow 66% in 2018 to $1.3 billion.

DISH Network’s Internet TV streaming service, Sling TV, which allows subscribers to stream up to three different devices simultaneously for $20 a month, bode well. It has more than 2 million subscribers.

The Sling TV offer is in sync with the latest trend in the pay-TV industry where programmers are designing skinny packages. DISH Network’s cropped bundle is one of the numerous online TV offerings in the market. Thus, by giving in to consumer demand and becoming more flexible, the satellite TV operator aims at cater to families with multiple viewers in a better way.

Competition Intensifies in the OTT TV Market

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are the two leading Internet TV streaming service providers. Statistics reveal that Netflix has more than 100 million subscribers and Amazon has an estimated 60 million Prime TV customers.

Major pay-TV operators, such as AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) , DISH Network and Sony Corp (T:6758). have already launched their Internet TV streaming services. Apart from these three companies, YouTube TV of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc. and Hulu Live TV also offer Internet TV streaming facilities.

In August 2017, The Walt Disney Co. announced its plans of launching ESPN streaming service in 2018 and a branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019. Telecom behemoth Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has deferred the launch of its TV streaming service which is likely to be unveiled next spring.

In September 2017, Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) launched its TV streaming service - Xfinity Instant TV, only to its high-speed Internet subscribers. The latest entrant into this league is the third largest wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE:T) . The company is set to unveil its online TV steaming service in 2018 after its recent deal to acquire Denver–based video technology innovator Layer3 TV Inc.

Price Performance

In 2017, DISH Network’s shares have decreased a whopping 18.73%, underperforming the industry’s substantial growth of 13.04%. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Bottom Line

An increasing number of customers are using the Internet to watch videos and want mobility of content. This has given TV distributors an opportunity to differentiate their products by offering access to select content through their networks. Nevertheless, the Internet TV streaming service, launched by leading pay-TV operators in the United States, is yet to cope with the onslaught of the low-cost online video streaming services. It remains to be seen how DISH Network can survive the competition.

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