Sling TV is making waves in the industry and is poised to change the way we watch television. Those looking to ditch their ridiculous long-term (and expensive) cable contracts can now finally cut the cord and still have access to an amazing amount of “live” television content in an easy to use format.
I tried out Sling TV for myself for a number of days and it made one thing abundantly clear; It made me fall in love with television all over again. Before, with our standard cable package, I hardly ever touch the television set for cable broadcast. Aside from a number of news programs and some Adult Swim fare now and then, I mostly used my cable to flip through hundreds of channels ad nauseam.
I’ve always wondered why I was being forced to play nearly a hundred bucks just to have access to a handful of shows and the occasional sports event. Ever since the rise of streaming services my connection with cable has become even less, yet here I was still paying an arm and a leg for something that didn’t get used all that much.
Sling TV changes everything and challenges what many of us think is par for the course with regards to cable television. Let’s get into what we love about Sling TV and see why it really is the cord cutters dream come true.
First and foremost Sling TV is an internet TV service that costs $20 for basic service. Now, I know the word “Internet TV” hasn’t really be associated with great things (mostly low tier free networks/public domain movies from all over the world that can easily be seen online), but Sling TV changes the term entirely.
The $20 service includes live television from major cable networks over a high-speed internet connection. This $20 package that Sling calls it’s “Best of Live TV Package” includes some major players on television and has something for every member of the family. The package includes live TV and sports, plus new movies, breaking news, and more. Included channels that you’ll have access to are ESPN (1 and 2), TNT, TBS, Food Network, HGTV, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Maker, CNN, ABC Family, Galavision, Disney, The Travel Channel, and the El Rey Network.
There is an incredible amount of channels for only $20, but you’ll also be able to add additional channel packages for only an extra $5 a month. You want more sports? Add the sports packages that includes SEC Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, NBC Universal Sports Network and more covering all the full gamut of the sports world.
Want to fill up on more News? Take in breaking news and in-depth reporting from channels including Bloomberg News, HLN, and CNN. You can also enjoy programming from The Cooking Channel and the DIY network with this News & Info Extra package.
Lastly if you have kids in the house (or are a kid at heart) you can snag up the Kids Extra add-on that includes Disney Junior, Disney XD, Boomerang and more. Sling TV offers add-on packages for every type of person and with each only being $5 a month you won’t think twice about adding one or two. If you picked up the standard package as well as all the currently available add-on packages you’d still only be paying $35 a month for television.
It’s also impressive that Sling TV has no contract for service. You won’t have to pass any sort of credit check, no having to deal and wait for a cable guy, no extra service fees, no anything that comes with dealing with a cable company. Plus, you won’t ever have to deal with Comcast and their shitty customer service ever again!
But how does Sling TV work if there isn’t a cable box? Well, Sling TV is a streaming service, so you can think of it along the lines of a Netflix or Hulu, but with live TV. Once you activate your month-to-month service you can download the Sling TV app on a compatible device. As of this writing you can download Sling TV on PC, Mac, Android, and iOs devices. This means your smartphone, tablet, Apple TV will all have access to the service no matter where you are. It makes taking your favorite shows with you when you are far from home a breeze.
You’ll also be able to access the Sling TV service through your Roku device (and presumably and Android enabled streaming stick) making its integration into your home very simple. While there isn’t any support for Amazon Fire TV and Fire Stick, or for home consoles like the Xbox One, Sling TV is quickly expanding with plans to get onto those services in the very near future.
Another major plus is with Sling TV’s ability to replay shows in much the same way a DVR does. While this isn’t as robust as a set-top DVR system, it does work and is a welcome feature. The replay feature works for programming going back 3 days. Not every channel has this replay service in play, but it does work and is impressive as my Roku device has no internal storage to handle saving content.
Navigating the Sling TV service is also a snap. The design and layout mimic much of what you are used to seeing with cable and streaming services. Sling TV includes search functionality, a full programming guide, and will even break down the details on each included channel. It all works very smoothly and you won’t be dealing with and time-delay window for programming or the time difference feeds of satellite.
For the price it’s simply incredible what Sling TV is offering to consumers. It is yet to be seen what impact this will have on major cable providers, but I can say with near certainty that they will be making changes to their service plans to better compete with Sling TV.
While there is already a plethora of content to be had in the base $20 package, Sling TV has announced (at the time of this writing) that they have inked a deal with AMC networks for additional content. I was excited to be able to add this block to my service, but Sling TV went one step further and added these new channels into the base package. You’ll soon have access to AMC, BBC AMERICA, BBC World News, IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv. This makes what is already a great deal into the very best TV package that you can find anywhere.
I can’t praise the Sling TV service enough, but it isn’t without its flaws. It should be noted that at present you can only have one active stream going at a time. This means that if I’m watching something in the living room and someone in the bedroom logs onto Sling TV, then I’m going to be logged out. Of course, as you are streaming online you aren’t going to be able to get local channels, but you can grab a $50 HD antenna and get that all taken care of. The single access feature is something that really needs to be addressed, but beyond that it’s hard to pick out anything major. Even factoring in an HD antenna for local programming and my Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Go accounts, I am still saving hundreds of dollars a year without losing anything in return. After using it I can now officially break away from my cable provider (ATT Uverse) and still enjoy the very best of live TV. If you want to take a stab with Sling TV they are currently offering a free 7 day trial. The service has just debuted to the general public, so head on over to Sling.com and get started.
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