Sling TV is one of the best live TV streaming services available in the United States. It is also one of the cheapest. The only problem is that the service is a bit difficult to understands. It offers two Sling TV packages plus a combi plan and it can take time to decide between those options.
The range of entertainment offered by Sling TV is excellent because it includes specialist sports, new, and children’s channels as well as general entertainment. Both TV shows and movies can be found in the schedules of this cord-cutting cable TV replacement streaming service.
Sling TV overview
Sling TV has the second largest audience of all of the live TV streaming service operating in the United States today. Only Hulu + Live TV has a larger number of subscribers. By the end of 2019, the service, owned by Dish Networks, had 2,59 million subscribers.
The nearest rival to Sling TV is YouTube TV, which is the third-largest live TV streaming service in the United States. Sling TV offers two base packages, both of which are considerably cheaper than those offered by Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. The other main player in the market is AT&T TV Now, which is also more expensive than Sling TV.
As well as offering a choice of base package, Sling TV has a menu of add-on channel packages. The two base packages are called Sling Blue and Sling Orange. Sling Blue has more channels than Sling Orange, but Sling Orange has higher quality TV channels – some of which are treated as premium channels by other live TV providers.
Sling Blue and Sling Orange have a number of TV channels in common. However, the difference between the two packages might cause arguments in households that are trying to decide between them. The solution to this problem is offered by the Sling Orange + Blue package. This is cheaper than taking out the two plans separately and offers the full spectrum of channels offered by Sling TV.
What TV channels are included with Sling TV?
Sling Blue includes 50 TV channels and Sling Orange includes 32 TV channels. Each package costs $30 per month. Many channels also include a catchup service that enables play controls such as rewind and skip, which aren’t available to those who watch live.
Notable TV channels included with Sling Blue
- A&E
- AMC
- BBC America
- Bravo
- Discovery Channel
- Comedy Central
- Food Network
- Fox (local channels for select markets)
- FX
- HGTV
- History Channel
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- NBC (local channels for select markets)
- Syfy
- TLC
- Travel Channel
- truTV
- USA Network
News channels included with Sling Blue
- Bloomberg TV
- Cheddar Business
- Cheddar News
- CNN
- Fox News
- HLN
- MSNBC
Sports channels included with Sling Blue
- Regional Sports Networks (from NBC SN and Fox Sports 1)
- Fox Sports 1
- NBC Sports Network
- NFL Network
- TBS
- TNT
Children’s TV channels included with Sling Blue
- Cartoon Network
- Nick Jr
Notable TV channels included with Sling Orange
- A&E
- AMC
- BBC America
- Food Network
- Freeform
- HGTV
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Travel Channel
News channels included with Sling Orange
- Bloomberg TV
- Cheddar Business
- Cheddar News
- CNN
Sports channels included with Sling Orange
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPN3
- MotorTrend
- Stadium
- TBS
- TNT
Children’s TV channels included with Sling Orange
- Cartoon Network
- Disney Channel
Add-on channels with Sling TV
Confusingly, add-on channels can only be associated with Blue or Orange in some cases, while other channels can be added on to either package. Some channels that are in Orange but not Blue can be added on to Blue for a monthly subscription. Also, some of the channels that are in Blue but not in Orange are add-on channels for Orange.
- ACC Network (Orange)
- ACC Network Extra (Orange)
- BET (Orange)
- Disney Junior (Orange)
- EPIX (Blue and Orange)
- ESPNU (Orange)
- Fox Sports 2 (Blue)
- FXX (Blue)
- Hallmark (Blue and Orange)
- Longhorn Network (Orange)
- MLB Network (Blue and Orange)
- MTV (Blue and Orange)
- NBA TV (Blue and Orange)
- NHL Network (Blue and Orange)
- Pac-12 Network (Blue and Orange)
- Paramount Network (Orange)
- SEC Network (Orange)
- Showtime (Blue and Orange)
- Starz (Blue and Orange)
- Tru TV (Orange)
- VH1 (Blue and Orange)
- WE tv (Blue and Orange)
Add-on packages with Sling TV
There are a large number of add-on deals available. In most cases, the add-ons TV channels are different depending on whether it is being added onto Sling Blue, Sling Orange, or Blue + Orange, but they are the same price despite having different numbers of TV channels.
The add-on TV channel packages are:
- Music Extra
- Comedy Extra
- Kids Extra
- Lifestyle Extra
- News Extra
- Sports Extra
- Best of Spanish TV
- Hollywood Extra
- Heartland Extra
- Sling international Brazil
- Sling International France
- Sling international Germany
- Sling international Greece
- Sling International India
- Sling international Italy
- Sling international Poland
- Sling international China
- Sling World Sports
- Sling International Cricket
- Sling International Soccer
Sling TV devices
Sling TV is only delivered over the internet, so a household has to have an active internet connection in order to receive the live TV streaming service. Sling Orange is a single-stream TV service, but Sling Blue allows simultaneous streams to three devices and Sling Orange + Blue allows four simultaneous streams.
These devices can receive Sling TV.
Smart TVs
- Samsung smart TV
- LG smart TV
- Vizio smart TV
Streaming platforms and devices
- Web browser (to sling.com)
- Google Chromecast
- AirTV
- Roku
- Apple TV
- Android TV box
- Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Amazon Fire TV Cube
Video game consoles
- Xbox One
Mobile devices
- Sling TV app for iOS (iPhones and iPads)
- Sling TV app for Android devices and Kindle tablets
Sling TV also includes a cloud DVR service. The Sling Blue and Sling Orange packages each get 10 hours of cloud DVR storage. This can be increased to 50 hours for $5 per month. The Sling Orange + Blue package gets 20 hours of cloud DVR storage.
Sling TV price
Both Sling Blue and Sling Orange cost $30 per month each. The Sling Orange + Blue package costs $45 per month.
Contract conditions
There are no minimum subscription period requirements for Sling TV and so no early termination fees. Users pay month by month and it is possible to suspend the TV service and then resume it without having to pay a reconnection fee.
How to cancel Sling TV
To cancel Sling TV:
- Sign in to your Sling TV account at sling.com.
- Go to Account Settings.
- Click on CancelSubscription.
- Choose a reason for canceling and press Continue.
- Select Cancel My Subscription.
Sling TV deals
Sling TV regularly changes its sign-up incentives. The frequently deployed is $10 off any package for the first month. However, sometimes, it will be free access to all premium channels (Showtime, Starz, and Epix) for one month. Sometimes, the TV service offers both of those deals simultaneously.
Free trial
Sling TV doesn’t usually offer a free trial. However, one is available occasionally. When it is available, the free trial lasts for three days and the user needs to enter credit card details in order to get it. The free trial rolls onto the paid service automatically if the user doesn’t cancel the TV service in time.
