This article provides an overview of Sling TV, how to sign up, and who its main competitors are. It also covers features, streaming limits, and the internet speed you need to get the most out of your subscription.
Sling TV is a streaming service that allows cord-cutters to watch live TV without a cable or satellite subscription. The biggest difference between Sling TV and cable TV is that it requires a high-speed internet connection and a compatible device.
The good news is that if you have a computer, smartphone, or streaming set-top box, you probably already have a device that works with Sling TV. You can even cast shows from your phone or tablet to your TV, or watch Sling TV directly on your smart TV (if compatible).
Signing up for Sling TV is easy and includes a free trial. Trials are free even if you select multiple a la carte options, but you must provide a valid credit card.
Navigate to sling.com.
Look for a button that says "Sign Up," "Watch Now , " "Try Now," or something similar to start the registration process.
Enter your email address, select a password, then enter your billing zip code and click Continue .
Choose the Sling TV package you want. (For more information on which plan to choose, see the next section of this article.)
Scroll down to select the additional features you want. Options include:
- Sports channel package
- Other streaming platforms (e.g. MGM+, Starz)
- Additional DVR storage
- children's channel
- lifestyle channel
- spanish channel
- international bundle
Click Check Out . Enter your name and credit card information.
Click Finish and Submit .
If you do not cancel before the end of your trial period, your card will be charged based on the options you selected when you signed up.
There are two main Sling TV plans, and you can also combine them to save a little money:
- Sling Orange : 32 channels, including many popular basic cable channels like ESPN, Disney Channel, and AMC.
- Sling Blue : 40 channels, including some networks like FX and NBC, regional sports channels and the NFL Network.
- Sling Orange+Blue : 44 channels, including all channels of Sling Orange and Sling Blue.
Sling also has a free tier: Sling Freestream. This option includes over 210 channels with live and on-demand movies, shows, news, and more. Freestream doesn't have local stations and isn't as flexible as the paid plans, but the price is right.
If you change your mind about which plan you want to choose, you can change it later.
Depending on your billing address, some local channels may not be available.
If you can watch local broadcast TV with an HD antenna, Sling Orange is a great low-cost alternative to cable TV. It does not provide access to any local TV stations, but does offer the most popular basic cable channels, including ESPN's sports programming and children's programming.
Sling Blue is a bit more expensive than Sling Orange, but it's a good choice if you don't have luck receiving broadcast TV via an antenna. The plan doesn't include ESPN or Disney Channel, but adds NBC and Fox in addition to some basic cable channels like USA and FX.
Sling Orange+Blue is a little more expensive than Sling Blue, but it includes everything, and it also allows you to watch more shows at the same time than any other plan.
Services like Sling TV limit the number of shows or streams you can watch at one time. This means that, depending on the plan you choose, your kids may be able to watch Disney Channel on their iPad while you watch NFL Network on your TV.
The number of streams you can watch at one time with Sling TV depends on the plan you choose:
- Sling Orange: Only one stream at a time.
- Sling Blue: Up to three streams at a time.
- Sling Orange+Blue: Up to four streams at a time (one Sling Orange channel and three Sling Blue channels.)
It's also important to make sure your internet speed is up to par before choosing a plan and signing up.
The image quality you experience from Sling is directly related to the speed of your connection, so don't expect HD image quality on a slow cellular data connection.
To get the most out of your subscription and avoid stuttering or bandwidth issues, you should have the following minimum download speeds:
- 3+ Mbps to transfer lower quality pictures to portable devices like mobile phones or tablets.
- A single stream to your TV or computer is 5+ Mbps .
- 25+ Mbps, take advantage of multiple streams available with Sling Blue or Sling Orange+Blue.
One of Sling TV's main selling points is that it offers more options than cable or satellite TV providers. In addition to the main Sling Orange and Sling Blue packages, you can also choose to sign up for additional channel packages.
The a la carte packages include around five to twelve additional channels and are based on themes such as comedy, sports and children. Multiple packages can also be combined together for even greater savings.
Premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz are also available.
All paid plans include Sling's DVD Free option, which provides 50 hours of recording time for free. If you need more power, you can upgrade to DVR Plus, which gives you 200 hours of recording time for an additional $5 per month.
Sling TV's main feature is its live TV option, so it works more like cable TV than a streaming service like Hulu or Netflix.
This means that when you open Sling TV on your computer, phone, or TV, it will show you a list of everything currently playing. This also means that when you watch a show on Sling TV, it will contain ads just like cable TV.
Watching live TV with Sling TV is a very simple process.
Use the My TV , Now Playing, Guide , or Sports tabs to find what you want to watch.
You can also use the search function to find a specific program.
Click on the show you want to watch.
Click to watch live .
While Sling TV is primarily designed to provide live TV to cord-cutters, it does include some on-demand content similar to what you get from cable TV.
Navigate to the network that broadcasts the show you want to watch. For example, go to Cartoon Network and watch Adventure Time .
Find the show you want to watch. If there are any on-demand episodes available, it will display "X Episodes" below the series name.
Click on the show to open its page.
Select the season you want to watch.
Find the episode you want to watch.
The number of episodes is limited.
Click to watch .
Watching movies on Sling TV is much the same as watching movies on your cable TV service. In addition to the movies available on its live TV channels, Sling TV also offers movie rentals.
Renting movies on Sling TV incurs additional costs beyond the monthly subscription fee, just like renting movies through a cable TV set-top box.
If you find a movie you want to rent from Sling, you can choose whether to rent it in standard or high-definition format. The SD format is cheaper and a good choice if you're watching on a small screen like a phone or tablet.
Once you pay for a movie rental, you have a limited amount of time to start watching. Once you start watching, you have a limited amount of time to finish watching. Currently, unviewed rental information will remain on your dashboard for 20 days. After pressing "Play" you have 48 hours to watch the movie.
In addition to cable and satellite TV providers, Sling TV has a number of direct competitors that also offer live TV programming. Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now all have access to multiple live TV stations, just like Sling TV. Paramount+ also has a live streaming option (but you can only watch CBS).
Other streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, offer on-demand streaming of TV shows but do not actually offer live TV streaming.
FAQYou can cancel your Sling subscription from your account dashboard. Go to My Account > My Subscriptions > Cancel Subscription . Select "Cancel subscription" again, then select "Continue cancellation" > "Continue cancellation" to complete the cancellation.
Sling TV is a wholly owned subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation. DISH and Sling TV are both located in Englewood, Colorado.
If you are streaming Sling TV on your Roku device and it freezes, it could be due to a drop in the internet bandwidth available to your device or a slow internet speed. Connecting the Roku to the router using an Ethernet cable can solve the problem. If the issue persists, try updating the Sling TV app by going to Home > Settings > System > System Updates > Check Now to scan and install any available updates on your Roku device.