D.C. customers will soon have something to grab their attention during the minutes they spend pumping gas — namely, television programming.
Gas Station TV, an Oak Park, Mich.-based firm, is pairing with Germantown’s Hughes Network System to provide news and entertainment programming for customers to view while filling up their tanks.
The company outfits each pump with a 20-inch, LCD television that plays a 4.5-minute program with both national and localized content, according to GSTV Chief Executive Officer David Leider. GSTV works with partners like ABC and ESPN to develop content.
The pumps will appear in the D.C. area in December, Leider said; GSTV already operates in markets such as New York and Houston.
Leider would not say which gas stations in D.C. will carry the content but said they will work with one of the company’s existing partners, which include Chevron, Conoco-Philips, Citgo, Murphy USA, Speedway and Sunoco.
GSTV originally used a combination of wireless and DSL to deliver the programming content but decided to switch to Hughes’ satellite service because of better speed, cost and reliability, according to Jeff Bixler, Hughes’ assistant vice president of business development.
Hughes already works with the petroleum industry handling the data transfer for credit card pay-at-the-pump transactions, Bixler said.
“Now we can tie in something like this, and give a very full offering to the petroleum company and the gas station owner,” Bixler said.
Gas Station TV appeals to advertisers because they can reach customers who might not watch television at home, or may fast-forward through commercials using digital video recorders, Bixler said.
“It’s a good opportunity to entice people and get them back in convenience stores,” Bixler said.
