The cheapest days of Sling TV have finally come to an end. The internet TV services provided by the dish have witnessed a subsequent rise in the prices of subscription packages, Sling Orange and sling blue a never reached the price of $30 for each package per month. Subscription of any of the bundle of channels will now cost the users an amount of $45 which is just a little less than that of other strong competitors like YouTube TV which costs around $49.99 per month. That comes to about a $5 increase.
Recently Sling TV also talked about how the customers have witnessed the sudden rise in the prices of the sling blue being their first time. They also stated about the stable price that the Sling Orange has been maintaining since June 2018. The cable replacement services have indeed seen a tremendous rise in subscription costs as the year comes to a close in 2019. Price hikes have also been witnessed in others including YouTube TV, AT&T TV, and Hulu Live TV in 2019.
Update: The previous version of this article said customers would receive 10 more hours to reach 50 hours. To reach that total, they will actually receive 40 more hours. The error is regretted.
A fitting end to the year of streaming TV price hikes
For the ever-increasing upward trend of subscription costs, Sling has been blaming the programming and network costs that have been rising lately just like their rivals. In a blog post, the Sling TV president Warren Schlichting explained saying that the networks that are provided to the users are not owned by them as a result of which they are required to the programmers for the channels they provide their users. He further stated that the increase in programming price is what has led to the price hikes of Sling services and is the reason behind the sharing of prices with users to provide the best experience as expected by the users.
Not every individual is ready to keep up with this exertion. In October, the news came to light about Sony which literally backed out of its internet TV service businesses completely. Furthermore, it also announced the shut of down of its PlayStation Vue in the upcoming month. In the statement of their defeat, Sony had to say that the expensive content and network business along with the highly competitive pay-TV industry had been slower towards change unlike what they expected.
Due to this reason, they decided on focusing on the core gaming business only. Disrupting the TV model turns out to be momentously hard. The only great thing about these services has been the provision of flexibility to watch on more devices.
Besides the price hike of the monthly costs, there has been a significant addition of a number of channels such as HLN, MSNBC, and Fox News that have been added to the Sling Blue. Apart from this, Sling TV has also successfully been giving everyone 10 hours’ worth of cloud DVR storage.
Cloud DVR free features
- Watch anytime, anywhere: provision to record multiple movies or shows that can be viewed later in any given location in the US from any sling device.
- Fast forward ads: Timing saving feature that allows you to rewind, pause, and even fast forward commercials as well as the recorded content.
- Recordings can be saved: This feature allows the user to save the recordings for as long as they wish and do not impose any expiration on them.
- Favorite channels can be recorded: Another useful feature that allows, subscribers, to record their favorite channels on Sling that including Disney XD, free-form, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN deportes, ESPN bases loaded, SEC Network, ACC Network, Disney Channel, Disney junior, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, and ESPN Goal Line. The various digital networks that are not available for recording on Sling include ACC network extra, SEC network+, ESPN 3, and local now.
- Auto–managed storage: The space provided in the cloud DVR is automatically managed by Sling in order to free space for the new recordings when the capacity is almost full. This is done by simply deleting the oldest watched recordings.
Hike in all the TV subscriptions
But these add-on channel packs of Sling TV are witnessing an upward trend in the subscription prices. In a press release, they talked about the various price ranges related to the services. Sports extra would now cost $15 per month with Sling Blue and Sling Orange. As an add it will remain at $10 with sling Orange and Sling Blue. According to the statement, along with Sling Blue and Sling Orange, the 4 extras Deal would now be at $12 whereas the total TV Deal at $25 per month. Though the price of the Total TV deal as an add-on would remain at the same cost of $20 along with either Sling Blue or Sling Orange.
The company’s website provides you with all the channel lineups and it might be able to make sense to you about the effect of Sling over other competitors. Unlike its rivals such as Hulu TV and YouTube TV, the sling does manage to offer Viacom’s networks to the users. Though sling has undergone significant improvement in providing the best experience to the users, its user experience is still bested upon by its competitors. The app still requires significant refinement in order to justify high subscription prices. Though it has been one of the most popular providers of TV services the price is what has led to its huge setback.
Also Read:
- India TV is now available on Sling TV in the United States
- How to Cancel Sling TV Subscription
- How to subscribe ESPN Plus
- How to subscribe Paramount Plus
Where things stand now
As the commencement of the year, 2020 takes place, the following are the prices of the TV subscription services based on advertised prices with the omission of PlayStation Vue for unfortunate reasons.
- AT&T TV Now (includes HBO): $65
- Hulu with Live TV: $54.99
- FuboTV: $54.99
- YouTube TV: $49.99
- Sling TV (Blue and Orange): $45
- Sling TV (Blue or Orange): $30
- Philo TV: $20
Sling TV: Pros and Cons
June 2022 Update:
- Sling brought back its “half off your first month” promotion on June 17, 2022. The Orange or Blue packages or Orange + Blue packages are available for $17.50 per month for new subscribers.
- Apple products now have a redesigned Sling app. As a result, both the iPhone and iPad have changed functionality. In the app, users can watch live TV while browsing a channel guide and the menu has been rearranged.
- If you prepay for two months of Sling, you can get a free Air TV mini ($80 retail value).
- There is now a three-day free trial period for Sling TV. There had been a seven-day free trial period.
- New Sling TV customers who subscribe for one month will receive a free Chromecast with Google TV.