About
Sling TV is an Emmy Award-winning American streaming television service owned as a subsidiary of DISH Network. It provides more than 700 channels from today’s most popular networks across its general market. After its launch in February 2015, Sling TV was named the CES Innovation Awards 2015 ‘Best Home Theater Product’, ‘Best Software App’ and ‘Best in Show’ by Engadget (Source).
Where Are They Winning
At just $35 dollars a month, Sling TV is possibly one of the most affordable over-the-top live streaming TV services available today. Sling has bifurcated its channel offerings into 3 packages – Blue, Orange and Orange + Blue, all of which are touted to be cheaper than many of the top players in the space. Sling TV offers cloud DVR functionality with all 3 of its base packages which comes with 50hrs of storage. Sling TV is compatible with phones, tablets and all computer devices. It recently launched a cool new feature on its app which allows you to browse what’s playing on all other channels while still watching your current channel. In the case of popular TV streaming devices, Sling TV works on Air TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromsecast, Facebook Portal, LG TV, Roku devices, Samsung Smart TV etc. The Sling Orange + Blue package allows for 4 concurrent streams.
Another fun feature Sling carries is the Sling Watch Party. It allows Sling users to invite upto 3 guests into a virtual chatroom to watch synced live video or on-demand content together. When it comes to Sling’s user-interface, it has a timeline programming guide enriched with thumbnail graphics for each show. Its design lends itself better to touchscreen devices.
Next Growth Areas
Sling TV continues to draw up plans to expand its South Asia offering with the addition of MX ONE, an Indian OTT service. Its tie-in with MX Player’s SVOD Subscription Service will offer a robust collection of highly sought-after South Asian content in the USA (Source) In the month of April 2021, Sling TV expanded its sports betting channel lineup with the launch of DraftKings Basketball, Baseball and Hockey channels on its platform. When Sling redesigned its application earlier in the year, subscriber growth went upwards. By March 2021, the DISH Network had a total of 11.06 million Pay-TV subscribers including 2.37 million who came from Sling TV (Source) Even after 6 years of operations, Sling TV continues to offer low cost affordable subscription costs compared to its competitors namely YouTube TV, Hulu and Fubo TV.
In Summary
Sling TV is a brilliant streaming service option if you are looking to cut the cable cord while also saving a buck. As the competition for over-the-top streaming tightens with more and more platforms entering the fray, Sling TV has managed to keep its neck above water by staying true to its affordability factor. So while it does offer high end channels, it has managed to maintain its costs. This makes Sling TV a very interesting example in the OTT ecosphere.
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