Sling TV

In response to the long-running price inflation of multichannel television subscription services, many people have started adopting rival media outlets. This growing market trend has already sounded the death knell for several conventional broadcasting providers and forced others into significant paradigm shifts.

The First Live TV Streaming Service

DISH recognized this trend fairly early and released its Sling TV service back in 2015. As the first live TV streaming service, Sling paved the way for many of the features that are commonplace among its peers today. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Sling TV and whether it's right for you.

Live Streaming Television

At first glance, it seems a bit counterintuitive to have a streaming service to watch TV. After all, the big rivalry seems to be between on-demand services such as Netflix and live broadcast services such as DISH. However, the concept is pretty simple.

Most large broadcasters have live streams of their content up and running already. It’s only a matter of signing the right contracts with the right networks to bring that to the consumers. Sling TV was the first to initiate this practice, but it now has several competitors.

What the Viewers Get?

In essence, what you get with Sling TV is a streaming service that can replace a multichannel TV subscription. It certainly means trimming some fat, though, as Sling doesn’t offer nearly the channel variety of even some basic satellite broadcast packages. Also, there’s less local programming available with Sling than with its cable counterparts.

Sling TV Packages

Sling TV has two basic subscription levels, Orange and Blue. They both start at $40 per month, but their channel lineups will appeal to different viewers. Sling TV, despite its name, is compatible with most devices that stream content. iOS and Android devices are compatible, as are Windows devices and Amazon’s Fire and Kindle devices.

As Sling is an internet streaming TV service, it requires an internet connection. For a single user smooth streaming, a speed of 5 Mbps minimum is recommended. For households with multiple devices or multiple users, a minimum recommended speed is 25 Mbps. Most of today's internet packages can easily support these requirements.

Sling Orange

Sling Orange is more devoted to general entertainment. It comes with 32 total channels including 8 exclusive Sports and Family channels. Viewers will find many of their favorite lifestyle shows and a few news and sports outlets. Highlights of the Orange package include the Disney Channel, HGTV, History, Bloomberg, and three ESPN channels. The price for Sling Orange package is $40/month.

Sling Blue

The Sling Blue package is more oriented to the news, with a few niche channels added in as well. Most local channels will be available, including Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. It has some overlap with Sling Orange, but it gives up ESPN channels in favor of the NFL Network. This package comes with 39 total channels including 15 exclusive News and Entertainment channels. The price for Sling Blue package is $40/month.

The two packages don’t outdo each other in terms of value for money one way or the other. The big difference between them is that Sling Orange is restricted to viewing on a single screen. It doesn’t support multiple simultaneous casts, which is a significant drawback for families that want to watch TV in separate rooms of the house. Sling Blue, on the other hand, does support viewing on up to three screens at the same time.

Viewers can also purchase both services with the Sling Orange+Blue package. That way, they get all available channels in either lineup and the ability to stream on up to three screens. As of this writing, the Sling Orange + Blue service package costs $55/month.

Cloud DVR

Since Sling TV is a streaming service, it doesn’t require a DVR box, but that doesn’t mean that viewers can’t record content. Sling TV has a Cloud DVR service that allows users to store up to 50 hours of content that will be available for as long as their subscription is active. For those that need more than 50 hours of storage, for $5/month, Sling offers DVR Plus service which secures 200 hours of storage.

It’s a simple matter of finding a title and tapping or clicking on the “Record” button next to it. Users can record portions of streams that they are watching or schedule recordings of future streams. For TV shows, there’s the option of recording all the episodes in bulk. Cloud DVR functionality is available on most channels except Local Now, ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+.

Sling TV Add-ons

Unfortunately, there is no option to add individual channels to either lineup, but subscribers do have the option of adding mini channel packs for a set fee. These are only available as add-ons to qualifying Sling TV subscriptions, and some packages are restricted to either the Orange or Blue packages. Subscribers of the Orange+Blue package have no such restrictions.

Sling Total TV Deal and Single Extras

Subscribers that don’t want to get into the details of each package have the option of simply adding them all with the Total TV Deal. It’s a great value at $21 per month and includes all add-on channels for their respective base package. Additionally, it includes Cloud DVR Plus for Sling TV, which allows them to store up to 200 hours of recorded content on the cloud. Total TV Deal with Sling Orange + Sling Blue package is $27/month. Here’s a breakdown of the Add-on packs:

Sports Extra package includes NBA TV, SEC Network, NHL Network, beIN Sports, and Stadium, among others. It adds a total of 18 channels for $11 per month.
Entertainment Extra includes reality favorites, laughs & action, shows that live loud including Yellowstone & Impractical Jokers. It has the total of 11 channels for $6/month.
Kids Extra channels include Disney XD, Nicktoons, and Disney Jr., and others. If under Orange extras, this pack adds 6 channels for $6 per month. In Blue extras, this add-on brings 4 channels for the same price, $6/month.
News Extra adds 8 news channels for Orange, 10 channels for Blue, from around the world for $6 per month. The main channels in this add-on include BBC World News, HLN, and Newsmax TV.
The Lifestyle Extra add-on includes some of the top general interest programmings with channels such as VH1, BET, and the Cooking Channel. It costs $6 per month and adds 9 channels to Orange, and 10 channels to Blue package..
The Hollywood Extra add-on costs $6 per month. The viewers get Reelz, Sundance TV, TCM, CineMoi, and HDNet Movies. This add-on adds 8 channels to Orange, and 10 channels to Blue package.
Heartland Extra is an add-on for outdoor sports and American lifestyle enthusiasts. For $6 per month, it adds Destination America, The Cowboy Channel, and the Sportsman Channel, among others. The add-on brings 12 additional channels to Orange package, or 13 channels if with the Blue package.

Sling Premium Extras

As with many other TV programming providers, Sling also offers Premium neworks. The premium extras are:

SHOWTIME®
STARZ
MGM+
AMC+
discovery+
discovery+ (Ad Free)
Acorn
ALLBLK
BET+
Carnegie Hall+
CineFest
Cocina On
Comedy Dynamics
CONtv Channel Logo
Curiosity Stream
Docurama
DOGTV
Dove Channel
DOX
FlixLatino
Gallery
Grokker
Hallmark Movies Now
Here TV
Hopster
IFC Films Unlimited
Kartoon Channel!
Magnolia Selects
Monsters & Nightmares
Noggin
Outside TV Features
PlayKids
ScreamFlix
Shudder
Sundance Now
Tastemade+
True Royalty TV
TumbleBooks
UP Faith & Family
ViX Premium
Warriors & Gangsters

Sling Latino

Spanish speakers will be happy to know that Sling TV also has a Sling Latino basic package. It is not an add-on, meaning the viewers can activate it as a core Sling TV service. It includes over 20 channels of the most popular Spanish-language programming, including Cine Latino, Azteca, ZEE Mundo, Familia Discovery, and many others. It starts at $10 per month, and it can be purchased together with either the Sling Orange or Sling Blue packages.

Spanish-language add-on packs are available as well. There is a premium channel add-on package, as well as packs for Mexico, South America, Central America, The Caribbean, and Spain.

► Sling Latino Plans

Ditch the Cable?

Sling TV is the leader in the live TV streaming field. Their early start gave them a significant edge, and even though competitors such as YouTube and Hulu are catching up, they have a long way to go.

Sling TV has two basic packages, each with its pros and cons. Viewers who want more local channels and the ability to stream on more than one screen will like the Sling Blue package. If single-screen viewing is enough and you don’t care too much about local programming, the Sling Orange package has slightly more variety.

► Sling TV Plans & Prices