Sling TV

[5/7/15] Sling TV to launch broadcast networks in a tier?

[1/5/15] Dish Network Corp. (DISH) plans to unveil the first major online television service from a cable or satellite company, a $20-a-month set of 12 channels that targets U.S. customers who don’t want to pay for larger, more expensive TV packages.

Called Sling TV, the service will offer live feeds of sports, news and scripted shows on TVs, computers and mobile devices. Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s TNT and CNN and others have agreed to supply cable channels.

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The $20 Sling TV base package includes ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and the "best of Internet video" with Maker Studios. Add-on packs with additional kids and news programming will be available for $5 each.

If Sling TV sounds familiar, it's because Dish owns Sling Media, which makes a line of place-shifting Slingbox products and services that are also integrated into Dish's latest Hopper DVR.

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So with a good antenna, Dish Network, Netflix, Hulu Plus, CBS app (if it comes to Roku or Apple TV), that ain't bad.

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Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and other pay-TV providers are citing a culprit for the higher bills you’re paying: Sports.

For the first time, Time Warner Cable is adding a $2.75monthly charge for sports programming. Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC)’s bills first carried a specific fee for sports and broadcast channels in 2013, and that charge is rising by $1, to $6 a month. Subscribers to satellite-TV and phone companies’ TV services won’t escape the hikes either.

Sports is the most expensive programming because it draws large audiences to live events. For example, Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and ABC and Time Warner Inc.’s TNT are paying $24 billion over nine years to carry National Basketball Association games. Those costs get passed along to distributors, such as cable companies, and then subscribers. Rising bills are already trying consumers’ patience, and now there are more alternatives than ever for customers ready to ditch traditional TV.

“At some point consumers will say ‘Enough is enough,’” when it comes to rising TV bills, said Dan Rayburn, a media analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

While cable providers say they are offering more services and channels than ever before, many consumers don’t want to pay for networks they don’t want to watch. The latest rate increases could prompt some to cancel their subscriptions, Rayburn said.

And if they do, there are more options than ever for Web-based viewing. Cheaper services like Netflix Inc. (NFLX) have millions of subscribers. Even ESPN’s coveted sports content is going to be available live over the Internet, thanks to a new $20-a-month package of 12 streaming channels from Dish Network Corp. (DISH) That’s far cheaper than the typical basic cable package.

[via roy]

*** [1/26/15]  Forbes review

*** [2/19/15] got an email from Roku saying Sling TV is now available.  I'm tempted.