Fox may not want to air ads for Dish, but that’s not stopping the company from getting some on-screen time during today’s Daytona 500. In order to get around what it calls “the network’s ongoing refusal to air ads for Dish’s consumer-friendly Hopper,” Dish has sponsored a racer — the Leavine Family Racing’s No. 95 Ford Fusion, driven by Scott Speed — which will feature a prominent Dish logo on its hood. Dish’s combative relationship with broadcasters is well documented, thanks to its Hopper DVR, which lets users watch TV programs without the ads.
Dish sponsors NASCAR racer to get around Fox’s advertising restrictions
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
"Fox is trying to hold up traffic."
Most recently, Fox sought an injunction to block the Hopper with Sling for its place-shifting feature, which delivers both live and recorded TV to computers and mobile devices. Meanwhile, earlier this year CBS banned its tech news site CNET from naming the Hopper “Best in Show” at CES — though Dish went ahead and gave itself the award anyway. “We are giving consumers what they want, when they want, and where they want it,” Joe Clayton, president and CEO of Dish, said in a statement. “Fox is trying to hold up traffic. You can’t stop the future.”
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