TV is a handy tool of entertainment for every family around the world, it’s still unbeaten and ruled on hearts even after many revolutionary changes happened in the past like TV transforms from routine fixed Govt owned channels to private channels (corporate). We can’t ignore the influence of a TV set in our drawing or bedroom. Our life truly revolves around the entertainment delivered by a TV Box, isn’t it? Well, let’s see today the sling tv channel and how it’s being one of the strong option while considering the home entertainment. Sling TV gives you a chance to discard digital TV and still watch live channels from ESPN, CNN, Disney and more for $25 per month.
Sling TV, When it introduced in February 2015, it was the principal multichannel live TV channel that spilled over the web. Today it has much more rivalry, yet it’s still among the least expensive approaches to cut the digital TV string.
Much the same as your cable bill, be that as it may, live TV streaming is sneaking up in cost. In late June 2018, Sling, at last, expanded its base cost from $20 to $25 every month. The reason? Programming costs or the cash Sling needs to pay content suppliers like Disney, which possesses ESPN.
Indeed, even after the price hike Sling TV remains the least expensive option to watch SportsCenter and other ESPN live shows, alongside a pack of other live channels like CNN, AMC, History Channel, and Disney Channel. You can pay more to get extra channels or include a cloud DVR, and on the off chance that you care more about Fox Sports and NBC than ESPN, you can buy into an alternate Sling package totally.
A cluster of administrations like Sling TV likewise stream live TV channels, including YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV Now and Fubo TV, all of which begin at $35 to $45 every month. They cost more than Sling, predominantly on the grounds that they additionally convey a large number of your neighborhood communicate channels – ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC – while Sling does not. There are additionally two or three less expensive administrations accessible now, specifically Philo ($16 every month) and AT&T’s Watch TV ($15 every month), except they need both nearby channels and sports systems like ESPN and Fox Sports.
All the live TV gushing administrations looked at: Which has the best channel lineup?
You’re here to know more about Sling TV, in any case, so I won’t harp on those different administrations excessively. Here’s all that you have to know.
What is Sling TV?
Sling TV is a service that allows viewers/subscribers to watch a collection of live and on-demand TV channels on their TVs, computers, tablets or phones. This is live TV, just like a cable or satellite TV service, except it’s streamed through the internet.
Hence, Sling TV is a subsidiary of Dish Network, the satellite provider, it’s operated as an entirely separate service. You do not need a Dish subscription (or a satellite dish) to get Sling TV programs. Sling TV is available everywhere in the United States. For the foreseeable future, it will not be available in other countries outside of USA.
What is One stream at a time?
Yes. One of the biggest “gotchas” with Sling TV, and one of the reasons it’s cheaper than cable is the single-stream restriction on the Sling Orange package (the one that includes ESPN).
If you’re an Orange subscriber, you cannot watch Sling TV on more than one device — TV or mobile — at the same time. This restriction can be a real hassle for families who want to watch different shows in different rooms, for example.
How does it work? If you’re watching Sling TV on one device and then someone else begins watching Sling TV on another device, the service makes you choose which single device to continue streaming. The other device is blocked from streaming Sling TV until the first device stops.
If you subscribe to Sling Blue, the package with Fox and NBC channels, you can watch Sling TV on up to three devices at the same time.
How are Orange and Blue different?
Despite Sling TV’s advertising “a la carte TV,” you can’t pick and choose individual channels. As with cable, there’s a set fee for a certain package.
Sling calls its packages Orange and Blue and differentiates them by channel selection and simultaneous stream limit.
- Sling Orange: $25 per month. 22 channels, including ESPN and Disney (but not Fox or NBC channels). Limited to one simultaneous stream at a time.
- Sling Blue: $25 per month. 35 channels, including Fox and NBC channels (but not ESPN or Disney channels). Up to three simultaneous streams.
- Sling Orange + Blue: $40 per month. Includes all channels from both. Up to four simultaneous streams, but only one at a time of Orange channels.
Here are all of the channels offered by Sling TV’s base packages as of June 30, 2018.
SLING TV ORANGE VS. BLUE CHANNELS
Channel | Sling Orange ($25) | Sling Blue ($25) | Sling Orange + Blue ($40) |
---|---|---|---|
A&E | Yes | Yes | Yes |
AMC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
AXS TV | Yes | Yes | Yes |
BBC America | Yes | Yes | Yes |
BET | No | Yes | Yes |
Bloomberg TV | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Bravo | No | Yes | Yes |
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Cheddar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
CNN | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Comedy Central | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disney Channel | Yes | No | Yes |
El Rey Network | No | Yes | Yes |
EPIX Drive-In | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ESPN | Yes | No | Yes |
ESPN 2 | Yes | No | Yes |
ESPN 3 | Yes | No | Yes |
Flama | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Food Network | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fox | No | Yes* | Yes* |
Fox Regional Sports | No | Yes* | Yes* |
Fox Sports 1 | No | Yes | Yes |
Fox Sports 2 | No | Yes | Yes |
Freeform | Yes | No | Yes |
FX | No | Yes | Yes |
FXX | No | Yes | Yes |
Galavision | Yes | Yes | Yes |
HGTV | Yes | Yes | Yes |
History | Yes | Yes | Yes |
IFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Lifetime | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Local Now | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Nat Geo Wild | No | Yes | Yes |
National Geographic | No | Yes | Yes |
NBC | No | Yes* | Yes* |
NBC Regional Sports | No | Yes* | Yes* |
NBC Sports Network | No | Yes* | Yes* |
Newsy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
NFL Network | No | Yes | Yes |
Nick Jr. | No | Yes | Yes |
Syfy | No | Yes | Yes |
TBS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
TNT | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Travel Channel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tribeca Shortlist | Yes | Yes | Yes |
USA Network | No | Yes | Yes |
Viceland | Yes | Yes | Yes |
*On Sling Blue, Fox and NBC’s local broadcast channels and sports networks available in select markets only.
Sling TV Add-On Packages
Beyond the channels recorded above as a component of the Orange or Blue base packages, Sling TV likewise offers add-on scaled-down packages it calls Sling Extras.
To bolster your channel list, Sling TV offers several add-on packs, most of which include multiple channels. These cost $5 to $10 per month, though some premium add-ons like HBO are a bit more expensive. Below are all the packages currently available. Keep in mind that some packages differ depending on which color of Sling TV you choose, though you subscribe to both Orange and Blue, every channel from each package will be available. Some channels are truly à la carte, as you can subscribe to them without a base Sling TV package.
To get one, you’ll need to buy into either the base Orange or Blue package, at that point pay an extra month to month charge. Numerous Extra channels are confined to either Orange or Blue endorsers. Here’s a couple of current Extra packages and the significant channels they incorporate, all evaluated at $5 additional every month.
It’s also important to state that these packages can update and change from time to time, so be sure to double-check on Sling TV’s website.
- Broadcast Extra (Orange), $5 per month: ABC, Univision, UniMas
- Sports Extra (Orange), $5 per month: NBA TV, ESPN SEC, ESPN SEC+, PAC 12 Network, ESPNU, ESPNews, NHL Network, BeIN Sports, ESPN Goal Line, Stadium, ESPN Bases loaded, Outside TV, Motorsport.tv, Univision TDN
- Sports Extra (Blue), $10 per month: RedZone NFL Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, NBC Golf, BeIN Sports, PAC 12 Network, Stadium, Univision TDN, Outside TV, Olympic Channel, Motorsport.tv
- Cheddar Big News, free: Cheddar Big News is available to all Sling TV subscribers at no extra charge
- Comedy Extra (Orange), $5 per month: MTV, TruTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, CMT, Logo, GSN, TV Land, El Rey
- Comedy Extra (Blue), $5 per month: MTV, Paramount Network, MTV2, CMT, Logo, GSN, TV Land
- Kids Extra (Orange), $5 per month: Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, TeenNick, Boomerang, BabyTV, Duck TV
- Kids Extra (Blue), $5 per month: Nicktoons, TeenNick, Boomerang, BabyTV, Duck TV
- News Extra (Orange), $5 per month: BBC World News, HLN, Fusion, Euronews, News18, CGTN, France 24, NDTV 24×7, RT Network, Weather 24 (new users will get a free six months of Weather 24, even without the News Extra add-on)
- News Extra (Blue), $5 per month: MSNBC, CNBC, BBC World News, TheBlaze, HLN, Euronews, France 24, News 18, NDTV 24×7, Russia Today, CGTN, Weather 24 (new users will get a free six months of Weather 24, even without the News Extra add-on)
- Lifestyle Extra (Orange), $5 per month: VH1, BET, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, FYI, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Hallmark Drama, WE TV, Lifetime Movies, Vibrant Network, ZLiving Network, Afro
- Lifestyle Extra (Blue), $5 per month: VH1, E!, Oxygen, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, FYI, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Hallmark Drama, WE TV, Lifetime Movies, Vibrant Network, ZLiving Network, Afro
- Hollywood Extra, $5 per month: Fandor, Reelz, HDNET Movies, Sundance TV, TCM
- Heartland Extra, $5 per month: World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel, Outdoor Channel, Ride TV, RFD TV, PixL, Cowboy Channel
- Best of Spanish Extra (Orange), $5: Galavision, Univsión, Unimás, EstrellaTV, Azteca, Univision TDN, BeIN Sports Ñ, BeIN Sports, ESPN Deportes, Cine Latino, Cine Sony, History en Español, Pasiones, TLNovelas Univision, INTI, CBeebies BBC, VME Kids, FORO TV, NTN24, Baby TV Español, El Financiero Bloomberg TV, ZeeMuno, ¡Hola! TV
- Best of Spanish Extra (Blue), $5: Galavision, NBC Universo, Univsión, Unimás, EstrellaTV, Azteca, Univision TDN, Bein Sports Ñ, Being Sports, ESPN Deportes, Cine Latino, Cine Sony, History en Español, Pasiones, TLNovelas Univision, INTI, CBeebies BBC, VME Kids, FORO TV, NTN24, Baby TV Español, El Financiero Bloomberg TV, ZeeMuno, ¡Hola! TV
- CuriosityStream, $6 per month: Includes over 1,500 documentaries on science, tech, nature, and history
- UP Faith & Family, $5 per month: Includes a number of family-friendly movies, animated series, and TV series
- Pantaya, $6 per month: Large selection of Spanish-language films
- Stingray Karaoke, $7 per month: Includes more than 10,000 karaoke songs to choose from, with lyrics displayed on video backgrounds.
- Dove Channel, $5 per month: Offers more than 300 hours of family-friendly movies, TV shows, musicals, and documentaries.
- Outside TV Features, $5 per month: Includes TV series, feature films, and documentaries focusing on the world of action and adventure sports.
- Starz, $9 per month: Starz, Starz West, Starz Edge, Starz Comedy, Starz Kids & family, Starz Encore
- Showtime, $10 per month: Showtime, Showtime West, Showtime 2, Showtime Showcase, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Beyond, Showtime Next, Showtime Women, Showtime Family
- Epix, $5 per month: Epix, Epix2, Epix Hits
- HBO, $15 per month, Includes on-demand content (Note that you may stream HBO on up to three devices via Sling TV regardless of your subscription plan)
- ConTV, $5 per month: Shows and movies for Comic-Con fans including sci-fi, horror, retro cartoons, and more.
- Docurama, $5 per month: a Curated collection of documentary films and TV shows.
- Grokker, $7 per month: Fitness-oriented channel with yoga, meditation, cooking classes, and more.
- Here TV, $8 per month: LGBTQ+ movies, series, documentaries, and short films.
- Comedy Dynamics, $5 per month: Stand-up from comedians like Bob Saget, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, plus shows and feature films.
- DOGTV, $5 per month: The first TV experience meant for dogs, with mood-based programming like “Relaxation,” “Stimulation” and “Exposure.”
International add-on packages available on Sling Tv
Sling also offers several international mini-packs. These include the following:
- Arabic Mini, $10 per month: Arabica, BBC Arabic, Al Jazeera Mubasher, MBC Drama, Melody Classic, ART Cima, Melody Hits, MBC 3, MBC Wanasah, IQRAA TV, Noursat TV, Aghapy TV
- Brazilian Mini, $15 per month: TV Globo Internacional
- Chinese Mini, $5 per month: CCTV-4, CGTN, China Movie Channel, CCTV-Entertainment, Hunan Satellite TV, Zhejiang TV, Dragon TV, ShenZhen Television, Jiangsu International Channel, Phoenix North America Chinese Channel, Phoenix InfoNews, Beijing TV
- Deutsch Mini, $5 per month: P7S1 Welt
- Français Mini, $5 per month: France 24, TV5 Monde Cinema, TiVi5Monde, Trace Urban
- Hindi Mini, $5 per month: Aaj Tak, Zee Cinema, SAB TV, zoOm, Food Food, Times Now, News18, B4U Movies, B4U Music, Sony Mix, Sahara Samay
- Italiano Mini, $10 per month: Rai Italia, Rai News 24, TV2000 Italia, La7, Rai World Premium
- Polish Mini, $15/month: iTVN, PolSat 1, 360TuneBox, DocuBox HD, FashionBox HD, Fast&FunBox HD, FightBox HD, FilmBox Arthouse, Gametoon, Nature Vision HD
- Tamil Mini, $5/month: Jaya Max, Jaya Plus, JMovies, Raj Digital Plus, Raj News, Zee Tamil, News18, zoOm, News18 North East, Desi Bonus, Zee Purvaiya
- Telugu Mini, $5 per month: Maa Music, TV5 News, Zee Cinemalu, News18, zoOm, News18 North East, Desi Bonus, Zee Purvaiya
- Willow Cricket Mini, $5 per month: Willow Cricket, Willow Extra
Sling Tv – Local broadcasts availability (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC)?
The biggest reason Sling costs less than many competing services is because it has very few local channels.
Orange customers don’t get the major broadcast networks’ local channels, namely CBS, ABC, Fox, and NBC. (And let us note, for the record, that CNET is published by CBS Interactive, a division of CBS.) The exception is ABC, which is available to subscribers in a small number of the select city for $5 extra per month.
As mentioned on the chart above, Blue customers can watch local live Fox and NBC broadcast networks (and regional sports channels) in select markets only — and again the number of markets is relatively small. Blue customers outside those markets have access to Fox and NBC shows on-demand.
Sling encourages users who want local channels to use an over-the-air antenna. It runs promotions that include free antennas and sells the AirTV Player and AirTV to integrate antenna broadcasts with Sling’s interface.
What other channels are not available on Sling TV?
Beyond local channels, a handful of popular channels aren’t available at all on Sling TV. They include:
- Animal Planet
- Discovery channels
- Fox News
- MLB Network
- Nickelodeon
- OWN
- TLC
this software also lacks many regional sports networks (RSNs) which are probably found on your local cable service. These vary by locality but typically include channels that show professional baseball, basketball and hockey games in the regular season, for example, NESN in New England and MSG in New York.
Sling TV is available on a host of devices, and very likely on one (or multiple) you already own. Sling TV is currently available (or not) on the following devices.
TV devices | Roku (TVs, boxes and streaming sticks), Apple TV (2015 and newer only), Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Xbox One, Android TV, Channel Master, Samsung Smart TV |
---|---|
Mobile devices | Android phones and tablets, iOS phones and tablets (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), PC and Mac computers |
Not available | PlayStation (3 or 4), Xbox 360, Apple TV (pre-2015 versions) |
Once you have the device and app installed, you’ll be able to sign in and start watching anywhere in the US that has a stable internet connection, whether wired, Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Can I pause live TV or skip commercials?
Not unless you pay extra for the cloud DVR service (below). Even then, live TV pause only works on certain channels.
Without cloud DVR, the pause, rewind and fast-forward commands don’t work at all when watching many of the ESPN channels (including the SEC Network), as well as AMC, TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, any of the Disney channels, ABC Family, Boomerang, HLN, IFC or Sundance TV.
On some other channels the pause, rewind and fast-forward buttons work as expected. You can pause a current show and rewind all the way to the beginning. You can also fast-forward, even through commercials, to catch back up to live time. But the only way to schedule and keep recordings of shows is to use the cloud DVR.
Cloud DVR
If you want to ensure that you don’t miss anything, Sling TV’s cloud DVR feature will help. The feature will cost you an extra $5 per month, but it will grant you 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage — through Roku users can enjoy twice that much. Unlike the cloud DVR functionality provided by competitor PlayStation Vue, there is no 28-day time limit, just the storage limit. Once you start approaching the limit, Sling TV automatically makes space by deleting the oldest recordings that you have already watched. Thankfully, Sling allows you to flag content as “protected” so you can prevent it from being automatically culled. Other added features include DVR folders for organizing your recorded content, and the ability to set up recordings from a show’s franchise page in the Sling TV guide.
Cloud DVR recording isn’t available on all channels, and you’ll often find that the channels that don’t allow DVR recording also doesn’t allow time-shifting. However, users are able to record multiple shows simultaneously on channels that currently support the feature. Similarly, while the large majority of devices support cloud DVR, the Xfinity X1 and some Samsung smart TVs currently do not. It’s a bummer this feature isn’t open to all channels and devices, but Sling TV has been steadily increasing support as the service grows nonetheless.
What happens if I cancel?
With other live TV services, canceling means you lose access to all of their programming. To watch anything, you’ll have to pay (after the free trial period ends).
After its June 2018 price hike, however, Sling started offering a small selection of shows and movies to former subscribers too, even if they’re not currently paying for the service. That includes people who cancel without paying after the free trial period ended.
In addition, former subscribers can watch Pay-per-view fights on Sling as well as certain premium channels for a separate monthly fee without paying for a full Sling subscription. They include Showtime ($10), CuriosityStream ($6), Stingray Karaoke ($7), Dove Channel ($5), Outside TV Features ($5), Up Faith & Family ($5), Pantaya ($6) and NBA League Pass ($29).
As of late June 2018 only the Roku app for Sling supports these extras for former subscribers, but more devices will soon.
Sling Tv User Experience
Interface
We expected it to take some time to learn how to wade through a new layout, so it came as no surprise that Sling TV felt a little awkward at first. But in less than a day, we became accustomed.
Sling TV avoids the blocky “guide graph” of your home DVR in favor of a slicker, timeline-based programming guide, enriched with thumbnail graphics for each show. We’re also glad to see an integrated search feature, which makes finding a specific movie in Sling TV’s on-demand catalog much easier.
The UI feels better on a tablet or phone than it does on our Roku or Amazon Fire TV, probably because Sling TV’s design lends itself better to a touchscreen or point-and-click interface than it does with directional cursor navigation.
We tested Sling TV on a 65-inch TV screen, which we expected would expose any shortcomings in video quality … and it did. With a strong internet connection and good throughput, we felt like we were watching 720p at best. Cable, Satellite, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu all have better-looking HD streams in our estimation. On smaller screens, compression artifacts and poor resolution are much less noticeable. We think Sling TV looks just fine for screens that are 47 inches and smaller, and beautiful on tablets and phones.
Loading and buffering
A solid, speedy Internet connection is recommended for the best Sling TV experience, but not required. Users can choose to stream at Low quality (0.5 Mbps) Medium (0.8Mbps) High (1.5Mbps) or Best (no limit). We streamed at the best quality and experienced longer load times and some buffering, depending on the state of our Internet connection, but it’s nice to know those with fast connections can get a quality experience, and those with bandwidth caps can control data consumption.
Shifty time shifting
Whether or not you are able to pause, rewind, or fast-forward — also known as “time-shifting” — what you’re watching will depend on which channel you’re watching, as not all support this feature. Sling continually adds timeshifting support to new channels, with a little over a third of the channels now supported.
On the plus side, those channels that do allow time-shifting will let you go back as far as three days in the program history, so you can catch episodes of your favorite shows on those channels that you may have missed.
Official Video Intro Sling TV App
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Sling TV App FAQs
How Sling TV is different from my cable or satellite provider?
- It’s probably cheaper and has fewer channels than other similar services
- It requires a broadband home internet connection of a minimum of 5.0 megabits per second (25 Mbps or higher is recommended).
- Instead of a cable box, you’ll watch on a TV-connected device, like a streaming stick or box, Smart TV or game console that runs the free Sling TV app.
- You can also watch on your phone, tablet or computer, either at home or away.
- There are no contracts, and you can pause or resume service anytime, with no penalties.
- You can only watch one stream at a time with the Sling Orange package.
Does Sling TV have commercials?
Yes. It has the same commercial breaks and national ads as the standard TV channels delivered via cable or satellite TV service.
What about sound?
Although Sling originally said the TV channels would be available in 5.1 surround sound where available, it now says 5.1 is restricted to video-on-demand (VOD) content. Live TV is a stereo-only.
Does the picture look as good as cable?
Not quite, but it’s still very good. In our testing Sling TV came close to Verizon Fios’ HD channel quality at its best, but did look slightly softer. It did briefly drop in quality when moving to a new channel, and there were other occasional picture quality drops, but on our high-speed connection, it was mostly delivered at the highest quality with excellent stability. The picture quality on smaller screen devices was also quite good.
Can I watch shows on-demand?
Nearly every channel has shows you can watch on-demand, instantly. Most of the channels feature “3 Day Replay,” allowing you to watch any show aired within the past three days. You can’t easily skip commercials on those past shows, however. Some even allow you to watch any show or movie that aired in the past seven days.
Is it easy to find stuff to watch?
Much easier than cable, in our book. Sling TV’s app has a user interface that’s more like Netflix than the traditional cable TV grid guide. It features thumbnail images of shows and easy access to on-demand content, and the interface focuses on individual channels and genres in an easy-to-use way.
The main My TV page lets you choose your favorite channels and shows, as well as continue watching on-demand content where you left off. The On Now section lists currently airing shows in categories like Sports, Kids and Lifestyle. There’s a full guide too, but without a grid, just all of the channels you subscribe to, subdivided again into categories. You also get an easy-to-use search function to find specific shows.
Can I use my Sling TV account to sign in to other TV apps, like Watch ESPN and FX Now?
Yes, but not with every app and platform.
Apps like FX Now and Bravo allow you full access if you authenticate with Sling TV credentials, as long as the app is part of your Sling package. Here’s the full list of channels, apps, and devices they work with.
Note that Watch ESPN is still subject to the single-stream restriction, so you can’t watch live TV via the Watch ESPN app on one device at the same time as you watch any live TV via the Sling TV app on a second device. And of course, Sling Blue customers can’t authenticate Watch ESPN at all.
- Netflix
- Prime Video
- Hulu
- PlutoTV
- Apple TV
- Playary
- YouTube TV
- BET+
- XFINITY Stream
Technical Specification
Version | Varies With Device |
File Size | Varies With Device |
Languages | English |
License | Free Trial |
Developer | Sling TV L.L.C. |
Conclusion
This live streaming tv service isn’t for everyone, and Dish knows that. Still, at $25 a month for the basic package (or $40 for more channels) with no contracts, commitments, or cancellation fees, it’s certainly worth a shot for those who have only kept cable around for channels like ESPN, CNN, or HDTV.
There are cheaper services like Philo or AT&T’s WatchTV, which cost $16 and $15 per month respectively, but they don’t offer sports channels or locals, which are often what people are looking for from a live TV streaming service. Pair it with an HD antenna, and a couple of other streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, and Sling TV can become an important part of a complete cord-cutter’s diet. In the end, what is there to lose besides your cable provider? However, you may also have cable-compare with all detailed info and cost comparison aspects by considering specific features of each cable service.