Sling TV provides new model for streaming packages
Web-based U.S. service offers live feeds of channels without need for cable subscription
The unbundling of cable TV is happening faster every day.
The latest web service that is going to test consumers’ willingness to pay a telecom for a huge package of TV channels has launched in the U.S. It is Dish’s Sling TV product, which for a monthly $20 (U.S.) features a package of 14 channels including ESPN, CNN, Disney Channel, Food Network and more.
The service was announced to great fanfare at the Consumer Electronics Show in the first week of January, and after a few weeks of soft launch and invite-only testing, it is now available to all users in the U.S.
At launch, the service works pretty well, giving online access to the live streams of the channels, although there are some restrictions.
The importance of Sling TV is that it could provide the new model for other telcos to create packages of television channels for similar types of web TV services. Bell’s Crave TV and Roger/Shaw’s Shomi were created to give customers of those companies Netflix-like experiences and to hopefully stem the cord-cutting tide. Although since those services are currently tied to cable packages, it’s also providing the streaming service as a value-added item and the companies and consumers a stepping stone to an unbundled cable future.
The big difference with Sling TV is that it is targeted at “cord-cutters” or “cord-nevers” — the term for young people who likely never will have a cable package. And while the service will supposedly eventually have the ability to stream shows from the featured channels on-demand, at launch, it only gave access to the channel’s live feeds. In a sense, this is still a bundle (but for the first time, many channels are available online without the need for a cable TV package).
Sling TV’s initial batch of channels includes ESPN, ESPN 2, WatchESPN, Travel Channel, CNN, Car- toon Network, Galavision, Disney Channel, Food Network, TBS, TNT, ABC Family and HGTV. As well, just as the service launched, content from AMC will also be joining Sling soon.
Sling TV launches with a seven-day trial period before the $20 fee kicks in and in sampling many of the chan- nels, one thing that stood out was how some, like ESPN, simply blacked out the commercials while CNN just aired theirs. As well, some channels let you pause or rewind, but several don’t.
There is no uniform manner yet in how they act. As well, despite being available for a number of devices including PCs, Macs, iOS, Android and Rokus, Sling TV will only work on one device at a time. Sling will also allow users to rent from a library of movies. The lament from many people who have cut cable is the lack of online sports. Sling TV fixes that, with access to ESPN and an additional “Sports Extra” pack for $5 that will include the SEC Network, ESPNU, Univision Deportes and BeIN Sports.
There are similar additional packages for kids programming, which include Disney Junior, Disney XD, Boomerang, Baby TV and Duck TV, and new programming that includes Bloomberg, HLN, Cooking Channel and DIY Network.
Sling TV’s launch is already big news in the U.S. and some reports say that the site has been busy as users sign up to try it out. Dish is the first big player to this kind of service, but likely won’t be the last.
Just last week, many sites reported that Apple is also kicking the tires on launching a similar type of streaming TV service.
Similar to other U.S. online services such as Hulu, the content is geo-blocked in Canada.