Sling TV is an entertainment company that operates as a subsidiary of DISH Network. Subscribers of Sling TV can watch a collection of live and on-demand TV channels on their televisions, computers, smart TVs, tablets, smartphones, game consoles, and other streaming devices. A dish subscription is not needed to avail of services. However, Sling TV is only available in the US. Similar to cable or satellite TV services, live events are streamed over the Internet, and an Internet connection of at least 25 Mbps or higher is required.
Sling is one of the true live TV experiences with on-demand content and allows users to stream on a range of devices that have Internet connectivity. Subscribers can access media content on iOS and Android devices, Xbox One, Roku streaming box, Chromecast, and Windows devices. Users can simply download and install Sling TV, sign in, and begin receiving Sling’s lineup of 23 channels, along with access to an additional array of around 65 channels as individual add-on packages.
Channels offered in different packages include Sling Orange – 25+ Channels: ESPN, AMC, ESPN2, ESPN3, TNT, Food Network, CNN, HGTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, HISTORY, Disney Channel, TBS, BBC America, Freeform, Adult Swim, IFC, A&E, Lifetime, Travel Channel, AXS TV, Newsy, Bloomberg Television, Tribeca Shortlist, and more.
Sling Blue includes 40+ Channels: AMC, CNN, HGTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, HISTORY, TNT, Food Network, TBS, BBC America, Nat Geo WILD, Tribeca Shortlist, Adult Swim, IFC, A&E, Lifetime, Travel Channel, Newsy, Bloomberg Television, FOX, NBC, NFL Network, FX, USA, Bravo, FS1, FS2, NBCSN, FXX, Syfy, Nick Jr., truTV, BET, AXS TV, National Geographic, Univision, UniMAS, and more.
Beyond the above channels listed in Orange or Blue packages, Sling TV also sells add-on mini-packages, which are called Sling Extras. It runs promotions that include free antennas and sells the AirTV Player and AirTV to integrate antenna broadcasts with Sling’s interface. This service can be canceled or resumed anytime without any penalty. Sling TV services are not available on PlayStation (3 or 4), Xbox 360, and Apple TV (pre-2015 versions).
Sling TV is continuously focusing on updating the search function within its Roku, Amazon, and Android TV apps. The app search screen will automatically display popular searches, thereby allowing users to browse through the most searched-for content each day. In addition, the company focuses on organizing its search result into categories such as Top Results, Movies, Shows, and Channels.
To get extra channels, one has to subscribe to either the Orange or Blue package, then pay an additional monthly fee. There are few current extra packages, and the major channels can be availed at US$ 5 extra per month.
Sports Extra: NBA TV, NHL Network, more ESPN channels (Orange only), NFL RedZone and Golf Channel (Blue only), and more.
Comedy Extra: MTV, Paramount, Logo, TV Land, CMT, and more
Kids Extra: Boomerang, Nicktoons, Teen Nick, Disney Junior and Disney XD (Orange only), and more
News Extra: BBC World News, HLN, The Blaze, MSNBC and CNBC (Blue only), and more
Lifestyle Extra: VH1, Cooking Channel, Hallmark, DIY, FYI, Lifetime Movies, and more
In addition, Sling TV offers Hollywood, Heartland, and Broadcast extra packages, as well as a wide collection of foreign-language channel packages. Premium channels available on Sling TV include HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Stars, EPIX and Curiosity Stream, and many more. Pricing varies from US$ 5 to US$ 15 extra per month.
History of the Company:
2012: DISH Network started to test run an over-the-top (OTT) Internet television provider with the launch of DishWorld, which is a service that provides access to over 50 ethnic and international television networks. This was only available through an application called Roku, and only for digital media players.
2014: Chairman of DISH Network Charlie Ergen launched services such as OTT by the end of the year
2015: Sling TV was unveiled on 5 January at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The OTT service was co-branded with a sling entity, and the purpose was to offer subscription video-on-demand services. In February of the same month, Sling TV was officially launched. Sling announced that it would carry Epix as part of its ‘Hollywood Extra’ tier in a package that includes its main channel and three multiplex services, thereby becoming the first premium channel to be made available by the provider.
2016: Sling TV introduced a ‘multi-stream’ package that allowed up to three users to stream different channels through a single subscription account.
2017: Sling began offering ShowTime as an add-on pack. In addition, Sling TV became the first over-the-top MVPD streaming service to offer all five major premium networks namely: HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, and Epix.
2018: In January, the company’s subsidiary Sling TV and comScore established a partnership to provide cross-platform addressable advertising metrics for campaigns. This combines the impression of OTT services and TV set-top boxes.
2019: In October, DISH Network signed a transportation agreement with Fox Corporation for its own and operated local radio stations, and restored FS1 and FS2 on DISH and Sling.
2020: In July, DISH Network and ViacomCBS renewed their multi-year transportation agreement to continue to provide ViacomCBS’s broadcast, entertainment, news, and sports network product portfolio to DISH and SLING TV customers.
2021: In May 2021, SLING TV launched a new app in beta, which features a powerful personalization engine to give users an effortless entertainment experience
Overview 2017:
- Net Pay-Tv subscribers decreased approximately by 341,000 in 2017
- Net DISH TV subscribers decreased approximately by 367,000
- Net Sling TV subscribers increased approximately by 26,000
- The total number of Sling TV subscribers is approximately 2.2 Mn, as of 2017
- The net income of DISH Network was around 2,100 Mn in 2017
Overview 2020:
- In April, DISH Network established a cooperative relationship with network software provider Mavenir to provide cloud-native OpenRAN software.
- In June, DISH Network reached an agreement with Altiostar to provide a cloud-native O-RAN solution for DISH’s nationwide 5G network construction.
- In August, DISH selected Tucows as its technology partner for its retail wireless business.
- Asset Purchase; In August, DISH acquired the assets including customer relationships of Ting Mobile.
Dish Network’s net income Q1 2010-Q 2021
Financial Results – 2018
- The DISH Network’s revenue decreased from US$ 14,390 in 2017 to US$ 10,310 Mn in 2018, which was a decline of 28%
- The net income of DISH Network declined and was valued at US$ 1,240 Mn in 2018
- DISH Network’s average monthly subscriber churn rate for 2018 was 2.1%
Financial Results – 2020
- The company reported that its revenue for the second quarter ended June 2020 was $3.1 billion, a decrease of 0.9% from the previous quarter.
- DISH Network’s US$12.07 billion for the fiscal year ending in December 2019 (the fiscal year 2019), a decrease of 6% from the 2018 fiscal year. In the fiscal year 2019, the company’s operating margin was 14.7%, while the operating margin in fiscal 2018 was 15.8%.
- In the fiscal year 2019, the company’s net profit margin was 10.9%, while the net profit margin in fiscal 2018 was 11.6%.
- The DISH Network’s revenue decreased from US$ 14,390 in 2017 to US$ 10,310 Mn in 2018, which was a decline of 28%
- The net income of DISH Network declined and was valued at US$ 1,240 Mn in 2018
- DISH Network’s average monthly subscriber churn rate for 2018 was 2.1%
- DISH Network – Overall Revenue, in US$ Million, 2015–2020
Some Recent Milestones:
- 15 March 2015, Sling TV released its app for Xbox One, the gaming console to support the live, over-the-top TV service
- 23 February 2016, Sling TV and DISH Network made an agreement with Willow TV International in order to provide Cricket Offering including ICC World Twenty20 2016 to their subscribers
- 2 June 2016, Sling TV and DISH Network announced an agreement with the “Zee” group from India.
- 23 August 2018, Dish Sling TV has 2.3 million subscribers, and is the largest live TV streaming service.
DISH Network – Quarterwise Overall Subscribers, in Million, Q1 2018 – Q1 2021
DISH Network – Segmentwise Revenue, in US$ Thousand, 2015–2020
What’s new in 2018?
- 25 January 2018, Sling TV launched immediate, inexpensive, mobile access to streaming sports, news, and entertainment in Puerto Rico
- 22 February 2018, Sling TV live and first streaming service launched NBA League Pass, so it is available on Sling Orange, Sling Blue, Spanish-language, and Sling International services for $29 per month.
- 25 July 2018, Sling TV is the service that provides Spanish-language content by region and launched three Argentine Channels in its “Sudamérica” regional pack.
- 28 November 2018, Sling TV launched Discovery networks and beIN SPORTS CONNECT channels on its domestic and Spanish-language services.
- 17 December 2018, Sling TV launched a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD).
- On July 26, 2018, Sling TV launched EPIX Drive-In which delivers more movies to both sling services such as orange & blue without additional charge
Upcoming Launches in 2019
- On 28th March 2019, Sling TV launched MLB Network and MLB Network Strike Zone – which is a television destination for baseball fans – offering more than 150 regular season MLB games. Both channels are now included in Sling TV’s ‘Sports Extra’ add-on service and ‘Sling Orange’ and ‘Sling Blue packages’.
Sling TV Statistics: Fun facts
- As of 2020, there are 2.69 Million Sling Tv subscribers.
- In August 2018, Sling TV and famed ‘Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Millan launched a dog-friendly on-demand lineup with programming that caters exclusively to dogs for National Dog Day.
- In October 2015, Sling TV got more live college sports events.
- In August 2015, Sling TV introduced in-browser viewing so customers can easily download google chrome and watch Sling TV content on supported versions and no app or plug-in is required.
- 20 July 2015, Sling TV presented the first national campaign “TakeBackTV” across TV, digital platforms, and social, which is the solution for those consumers frustrated with traditional pay-tv providers.
- 1 April 2015, Sling TV and HBO announced live Internet TV service to offer linear and Video-On-Demand content from HBO for ‘Game of Thrones Premiere
- 3 April 2015, Sling TV Launched 200 Channels in 18 Languages.
Dish Network: no of video subscribers in the US 2014-2021
News 2020
- New members will receive a 14-day trial for free for a limited time.
- Two main packages for subscription are Sling Orange and Sling blue which offer 30+ channels at $30 per month or $45 combined.
- Sling orange includes Disney and ESPN, one doesn’t get them with Sling Blue instead they get Fox-owned channels, FX, Fox Sports 1, National Geographic, Bravo, TLC, and Discovery, and also offers local channels from NBC and FOX.
- For more regional channels Sling offers those through an antenna and an AirTv 2.
- The antenna allows users to pick local channels via OTA broadcasts, and the AirTV 2 allows one to integrate those channels on the Sling App on different supported devices.
- Sling also offers to add based on genre, Kids Extra, Sports Extra, and Lifestyle Extra for an additional charge. Genre add-ons are charged at $5 a month.
- Customers can buy all 7 add at a charge of $20 a month.
- In Aug 2020 Sling announced that users with OTA antenna can now watch local broadcasts on LG smart TV without leaving the Sling Tv app. This feature is available on 2020 LG smart TVs, with webOS5.0, including LG Nano cell, LG OLED tv, 4k, and 8K
- SportsGrid is launching a 24-hr network on Sling tv i.e live streaming service that delivers live and on-demand entertainment directly to compatible internet-connected devices.
- Sling Tv reported the first-ever decline of 94,000 subscribers in 2020
- Comcast launches Sling TV on Flex streaming
