Only days after HBO launched its standalone HBO Now streaming service — and Sling TV began making HBO available as a live stream for its users — both new offerings were put to the test with Sunday night season premiere of Silicon Valley (and a few people who watched Game of Thrones). In the end, HBO Now came through without a crash, while Sling’s live stream showed improvement. But HBO Go, the streaming service that’s been around for five years, seemed to have the most problems. [More]
sling tv
Sling TV’s Final Four Faltering Raises Concerns About Launch Of HBO Now
By 4.6.15
Even though Dish’s Sling TV streaming service had two full months of active, national usage under its belt — and even though the company says it expected high demand during the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament — some Sling users were left staring at error messages instead of watching the end of Kentucky’s almost-perfect season. And with HBO expected to launch both its standalone streaming HBO Now service and live access via Sling this week, there’s cause for concern. [More]
Sling TV Users Getting HBO Access For $15/Month In Time For Game Of Thrones
By 4.1.15
UPDATE: Sling has confirmed that it will offer HBO (both live and on-demand) to users for an additional $15/month. [More]
Sling TV Users Finding Some Shows Are Now Being Blocked From Streaming
By 3.30.15
TV production and distribution is a complicated entanglement of interests involving studios, distributors, networks, and pay-TV services, not to mention deals any of these people might have with other companies like home video or on-demand streaming sites. That’s been one of the huge impediments to getting live-streaming of all TV content — having to please all those parties who may not all agree. And that appears to be why Sling TV users are now finding that they can’t access every show on all of the networks. [More]
6 Things To Think About Before Paying $50-$70/Month For PlayStation Vue
By 3.18.15
After months of limited testing without a price tag, Sony’s PlayStation Vue live TV streaming service launched today in only a few markets with packages ranging from $50/month to $70/month. Since I live in Philadelphia, one of the launch cities, I was able to get my hands on Vue to determine how it stacks up against basic cable and Dish’s recently debuted Sling TV service. [More]
Sling TV Adding More Channels To Base Package, Now Works On Xbox One
By 3.17.15
Dish’s standalone streaming Sling TV service continues to add more value to its $20/month subscription price, with the announcement today that Sling is now accessible through Xbox One consoles and that four channels are being added to the standard Sling lineup. [More]
Comcast Not Afraid Of Streaming Services; Won’t Commit To Playing Nice With Them
By 3.5.15
Earlier this week, a Dish executive claimed that Comcast was afraid of so-called over-the-top streaming services like Dish’s Sling TV and that the cable giant could use its size and influence to prevent broadcasters from signing onto Sling and others. Now Comcast is saying it has nothing to fear from these new services, but won’t commit to avoiding deals that make it difficult for them to compete. [More]
Sling Users Get More Streaming TV Today With Addition Of AMC, IFC
By 3.4.15
One of the most common knocks against Dish’s Sling TV streaming service is that it just doesn’t offer you enough channels for the $20/month subscription, but today Sling will get more attractive to some as AMC and IFC are added to the base package of channels at no additional cost, while users also have the option of a $5 premium bundle from Epix. [More]
Dish: Comcast Could Still Use Its Size To Block Streaming Content
By 3.3.15
The FCC’s recently approved net neutrality rules will prohibit all Internet service providers from blocking any legal content from being sent or received by their users. But when an ISP also controls the nation’s largest pay-TV audience, perhaps it could use that leverage to prevent certain content from ever going online in the first place. [More]
Dish Says Sony’s Streaming Service Will Be Real Substitute For Cable
By 2.24.15
Just a few weeks ago, Dish launched its Sling TV streaming service which some hailed as a cord-cutter’s dream, but which is honestly more targeted at people who want only the most basic cable TV access without having to deal with cable companies. Dish’s founder (and soon-to-return CEO) recognizes Sling’s limits and says that Sony’s forthcoming streaming service is likely to be the real marketplace disruptor. [More]
Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For A Streaming Option From DirecTV
By 2.20.15
The future may be online, but satellite pay-TV company DirecTV isn’t exactly rushing to embrace that future with open arms. The CEO of DirecTV this week admitted that the company is investigating the option of starting their own streaming service, but he was less than enthusiastic about the idea, seeing it as unlikely to be profitable. [More]
T-Mobile Claims It’s Bigger Than Sprint, Open To Working With Dish On Wireless Services
By 2.19.15
With AT&T and Verizon comfortably controlling the two lead spots in the U.S. wireless market, it’s left to Sprint and T-Mobile to duke it out over the third-place position. And if you believe the latest chest-thumping from T-Mo CEO John Legere, his company is now at least tied with Sprint if not ahead. [More]
Sling TV Chooses Epix For Its First Premium Movie Package
By 2.16.15
Dish’s Sling TV streaming service is currently a pretty bare-bones operation, with only about a dozen channels and very little in the way of on-demand content. Today the service announced its first partnership with a premium pay-TV movie network. And no, it’s not HBO, Showtime, or even Starz. [More]
Free Amazon, Roku Streaming Devices If You Prepay For 3 Months Of Sling TV
By 2.12.15
While some people have touted the recently launched Sling TV service as an option for cord-cutters, it’s really better-targeted to consumers who don’t have cable but want a few more live-TV viewing options. That’s why the service is now pushing deals that will allow some Sling subscribers to get free or deeply discounted streaming devices. [More]
Sling To Get ‘Mad Men’ & ‘Walking Dead’ With Addition Of AMC
By 2.9.15
We’ve already given you some reasons to possibly think twice before signing up for Dish’s $20/month Sling TV, but here’s some good news — the company confirmed today that it will be adding AMC to the lineup of channels available on the live TV streaming service. [More]
5 Things To Consider Before Spending $20/Month On Sling TV
By 2.9.15
This morning, Dish’s Sling TV streaming service ended its invite-only period and opened the floodgates to anyone who wants to sign up for $20/month access. We’ve been messing around with Sling for a few days and have come across some issues you should take into account before deciding to sign up. [More]
Disney Considering Marvel, ‘Star Wars’ Streaming Services
By 2.4.15
With its involvement in Dish’s Sling TV service, Disney has shown that it’s willing to experiment with making its high-value cable programming available to consumers who don’t want traditional cable TV. So why not look into that same approach for its marquee movie titles? [More]
Why Dish’s Sling TV Is A Factor In Pending Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger
By 1.15.15
Later this month, Dish will finally launch its much-awaited Sling TV streaming service that gives subscribers live online access to a dozen cable channels. And even though Sling has yet to go live, it’s already being factored into the pending mega-merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. [More]
