There are live TV streaming services that offer packages that are affordable but have lots of limitations. Then there are the more expensive services that have almost anything you want but are quite expensive. Then there’s Sling TV. This service tries to bridge the gap between being affordable and also offering more than the budget services.
Read more: Best live TV streaming services
So what is Sling TV, and is it worth your time and money to use it to cut your cable or satellite TV cord. Read on to find out. You can sign up for the service now at the link below:
What is Sling TV?
Launched in 2015 by Dish Network, Sling TV offers a selection of live television channels and on-demand movies and TV shows for mobile devices, smart TVs, and set-top boxes. In its latest financial numbers for the second quarter of 2021, Dish announced that the service had 2.44 million subscribers. That makes the service the third most popular live TV streaming service in the US, behind Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV.
Platforms and Availablity
Sling TV is currently available just in the United States and Puerto Rico. Here’s a list of the platforms and devices that support the service at this time:
- Android
- Android TV
- Chromecast
- iOS
- Apple TV
- Roku
- Amazon Fire TV
- Amazon Fire tablets
- Samsung smart TVs
- LG Smart TVs
- Oculus Go and Oculus Quest VR headsets
- Portal TV from Facebook
- Microsoft Xbox Series S/C game consoles
- Windows 10 PCs
- Mac PCs
- Chrome browsers
Sling TV Plans and Prices
Sling TV offers two main plans, labeled as Blue and Orange. Both plans normally cost $35 a month. While both share some channels, there are differences between the two plans. Keep in mind that the service has frequent promotions. Currently, the service is offering new customers access to the first month of either plan for just $10 or just $20 for the first month if you get the combined Blue & Orange Plan.
Blue Plan
The Blue Plan currently has 43 channels. It has many entertainment channels but also includes sports and news channels from Fox and NBC. It’s also the plan that supports local Fox and NBC channels in certain markets. It supports up to three concurrent streams at once, along with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage.
- A&E
- AMC
- AXS TV
- BBC America
- BET
- Bloomberg Television
- Bravo
- Cartoon Network
- Cheddar
- CNN
- Comedy Central
- Comet
- Discovery Channel
- E!
- Epix Drive-In
- Food Network
- Fox (select markets)
- Fox News
- Fox Sports 1
- Fuse
- FX
- HGTV
- HLN
- History Channel
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Local Now
- MSNBC
- NBC (select markets)
- NBC Sports Network
- NFL Network
- National Geographic
- Nick Jr.
- SYFY
- Stadium
- TBS
- TLC
- TNT
- Travel Channel
- truTV
- USA
- Viceland
Orange Plan
The Orange Plan, which costs the same as the Blue Plan, actually has only 32 channels at the moment. However, it is also the plan with Disney’s ESPN channels, which might make it more attractive to some sports fans than the Orange Plan. It also supports 50 hours of DVR cloud storage, but it only supports one concurrent device stream.
- A&E
- AMC
- AXS TV
- BBC America
- BET
- Bloomberg Television
- CNN
- Cartoon Network
- Cheddar
- Comedy Central
- Comet
- Disney Channel
- EPIX Drive-In
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPN3
- Food Network
- Freeform
- Fuse
- HGTV
- History Channel
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Local Now
- MotorTrend
- Nick Jr.
- Stadium
- TBS
- TNT
- Travel Channel
- Viceland
Blue & Orange Plan
You can also get both plans at once for the cost of $50 a month. That gives you 51 channels total, plus up to three concurrent streams at once and 50 hours of cloud DVR storage.
Add-on Plans
Sling TV has many add-on plans you can purchase to fill out your Blue, Orange, or Blue & Orange Plan. That includes add-on channel packages focused on kids, news, sports, comedy, and more. They cost between $6 to $11 extra. You can also purchase access to premier movie channels like Starz, Epix, and Showtime, along with single channels a la carte for as little as $3 a month. Finally, you can buy DVR Plus, which increases your cloud DVR storage to 200 hours for $5 a month. You can check out a list of all of Sling TV’s add-on plans on its website.
Spanish and International Plans
Outside the main Blue and Orange Plans, Sling TV also offers separate Spanish and International programming plans. The Spanish plans start at $10 a month with over 20 channels in the main packages, with other plans also available. The International plans offer tons of channels from 23 different markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America.
Sling TV for free and movie rentals
If you want to try out Sling TV, the service does offer an on-demand selection of its movies and TV shows, plus live news channels, that you can access for free. That content does include ads, however. You can also rent recent movies from the service’s online store without having to sign up for one of Sling TV’s plans.
Is Sling TV worth it?
There’s no doubt that Sling TV costs a lot less overall than its biggest rivals in Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV. However, those services also have wider access to local channels out of the box, plus a wider variety of channels to boot. Also, there’s no access to any HBO channels on Sling TV at the moment. On the other hand, the selection of international channels from all over the world is a nice plus, even if you have to pay extra for it.
Overall, Sling TV is an excellent way to cut the cord from the more expensive cable or satellite TV service. It’s definitely worth it if you want live TV channels on your phone, tablet, or smart TV. In particular, the Sling Blue $35 a month plan, with its over 40 channels, three concurrent device streams, and limited access to local Fox and NBC stations, is an excellent package.
Sling TV – Other features and hardware
Cloud DVR
As we mentioned, Sling TV plans include at least 50 hours of video storage for its cloud DVR. The service works with most of its channels, although it won’t work with the Local Now, ESPN3, ACC Network Extra, and SEC Network Plus channels at the moment. You can also pause live TV on most channels as well. For $5 a month more, you can not only increase the storage amount to 200 hours, but you can set up your recordings so they won’t disappear over time.
AirTV 2 and AirTV Mini
Sling TV also sells hardware products that can complement your service. The AirTV 2 is a $99.99 set-top box that connects to an over-the-air antenna. You can then use it to stream all the local over-the-air channels to your Sling TV screen. Unfortunately, this will not work if you use Sling TV on your Xbox Series S/X console, your PC, your Apple TV box, or your Samsung or LG smart TVs. You can also buy it on Amazon.
The AirTV Mini is basically an Android TV-based dongle for $79.99. However, when connecting it to your TV, its interface includes full integration with the Sling TV service. It’s also available at Amazon.
Sling TV Watch Party
If you use the service on a Windows or Mac PC, you can host or join a Sling TV Watch Party. This allows you to watch content on the service, including live shows, with family and friends remotely. A host can invite up to three family or friends for a watch party, and all four people can see each other and chat via voice. Family and friends can join up to three watch parties for free.
Alternatives
There are plenty of live TV streaming services, some of which offer more channels and features than Sling TV. Here’s a look at some of them:
Frndly TV
This service offers over 20 family-friendly live TV channels, including the Hallmark Channel lineup, starting at just $5.99 a month. It’s definitely cheaper, but the much smaller channel lineup compared to Sling TV may be a deal-breaker
Philo TV
Philo TV overs a lot more channels than either one of Sling TV’s main plans. You can watch over 60 channels for just $25 a month. However, there are no options to add local channels, and the service’s add-on options are also well behind Sling TV.
YouTube TV
Google’s YouTube TV starts at $64.99 a month, which is much higher than either of Sling TV’s main plans. It does have over 85 live TV channels for that price, including local, sports, and major news channels. It also offers unlimited cloud DVR services and support for playing up to three devices at once. There’s also support for adding movie channels and 4K viewing and recording for additional fees. While it is much more expensive than Sling TV, you could make an argument that you are getting quite a bit for the money.
Hulu Plus Live TV
Hulu Plus Live TV also starts at $64.99 a month, which is much more expensive than Sling TV. You can watch over 75 live TV channels, including local channels. As a bonus, you can also watch all of the on-demand TV shows and movies on the Hulu streaming service as well. You also get 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage for that price. You can add features like movie channels, up to 200 hours of DVR storage, and unlimited device streams at home for additional fees. You can also spend $72.99 a month and get the Disney Plus-Hulu-ESPN Plus bundle which throws in two more streaming services.
Sling TV – Other FAQs
Q: Does Sling TV have parental control features?
A: No, the service does not have parental features at this time.
Q: Is Sling TV available in 4K?
A: No, there is no content available in 4K resolution. Live TV shows are limited to 720p resolution, and the on-demand video content goes up to 1080p resolution.
Q: Does the service have ads?
A: Live TV channels have the same commercials on their cable, satellite, and internet services.
Q: What are the service’s internet download speed requirements?
A: The speed requirements are as follows:
- 3Mbps – SD quality video
- 7Mbps – One HD quality video
- 13Mbps – Multiple HD quality videos
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