Launching in 2015, while its subscribers continue to fluctuate up and down in the current climate, Sling TV is considered one of the first and most popular streaming services to offer US viewers the ability to watch live TV without committing to a long term and expensive cable package.
- Sling TV: get 50% off your first month now
Sling TV is an OTT service that gives also gives you the option to stream a ton of on-demand TV shows and movies. The channels in its packages include CNN, BBC America, Comedy Central, NBC, E!, as well as ESPN, all in one place. What's more, it offers the ability to record live TV, too, and watch back later.
While Sling TV is not the only OTT service around, you’ll find Hulu charges a premium rate for its live TV package while Peacock TV and Paramount Plus are more limited in their offering as the on-demand services to NBC and CBS respectively.
Sling TV explained - what is Sling TV and what packages can you get?
With a multitude of news, entertainment, and sports channels available to stream, there's plenty to entertain everyone with Sling TV's 48+ live TV channels and 80,000+ TV shows and movies.
While streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are fantastic, there's an element missing in streaming services that doesn't fill the void of more traditional cable packages. With a Sling TV subscription, you get the best of both, all in an affordable monthly package, claiming to save you $945 dollars a year versus the average cable provider.
The Sling TV channels you can get are split into two packages: Sling Blue and Sling Orange.
- Blue plan: news and entertainment channels
- Orange plan: sports and family channels
No matter which plan you opt for, you'll get 50 hours free of DVR storage, allowing you to record live TV that you may have otherwise had to miss when it's on. Better still, you can pay from $5 a month in addition for up to 200 hours worth of storage.
All the flexibility of any other streaming service, Sling TV allows you to cancel anytime, with the ability to set it up on just about any device through its app - no equipment needed.
Sling TV shows and movies: what can you watch
It all comes down to which of Sling TV's plans you choose, with Sling TV Orange offering sporting content and channels for the kids with ESPN, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nick Jnr. This includes NFL coverage, NBA games, as well as College Basketball and College Football.
Alternatively, Sling TV Blue bags you plenty of drama and documentaries with the likes of BBC America when you can watch plenty of David Attenborough documentaries, as well as Doctor Who, Orphan Black, and Killing Eve.
With FX, you can catch American Horror Story, as well as Sons of Anarchy. Love a Rom-Com? The Hallmark Channel has you covered with all the romantic cheese you could wish for.
VH1 will bring you all the joys of RuPaul's Drag Race, while the Paramount Network gets you great TV and movies, like The Hunger Games and The Office.
And with multiple add-ons and extras, you can shape your Sling TV subscription to fit your own personal binge-watching preferences.
How much is Sling TV?
In comparison to US cable providers, Sling TV is uber cheap. Whether you opt for the Blue or Orange plan, the Sling TV price remains the same, though of course what you get from each will be different.
With Sling TV Blue you can have up to three simultaneous streams, with a bunch of news and entertainment channels from $40 a month. These channels include CNN, Fox News, FX, NBC, TLC, NFL Network and more. For regions that get ABC over the air, the price increases to $45 a month.
Sling TV Orange also costs $40 a month, while only allowing you to stream on one device at a time, with predominantly sports and family channels, including ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN 3, and the Disney Channel.
If you want Sling TV Blue and Orange, you can save 31% when signing up to both, with plenty of other Sling TV promo codes and deals available, too.
Right now you can shave 50% off your first month across its Blue, Orange, and Blue and Orange packages.
Sling TV: is there a free trial?
Much like other streaming services, at one time or another Sling TV offered a free trial. Unlike those aforementioned services, though, Sling is known to reintroduce and change up its introductory offer.
The Sling TV free trial, in the past, gave you 7 days to enjoy either of its plans before handing over your cash, allowing you to see if the service and its library of content was for you. More recently, you could benefit from a 3-day free trial.
In March the free trial disappeared. Currently, though, new customers able to get 50% off their first month, reducing singular plans from $40 a month to $20, and both Orange and Blue combined to $27.50 from $55.
It's also worth knowing Sling TV offers its Sling Free service, which gives you access to a selection of both free on-demand and live TV to watch through your device.
How to sign up to Sling TV
Follow our step-by-step guide to sign up for Sling TV.
- Visit the Sling TV website
- Click on the orange 'Watch Now' button
- Enter your email address and a secure password
- Choose between Sling Orange, Sling Blue, or both
- Scroll down and you can select any add-ons called 'Extras'
- Add any 'Premiums' to your package
- Enter your payment details - you can sign up with a credit card or PayPal
- Click 'Finish & Submit' and you're ready to start watching Sling TV
Sling TV app: what devices can you watch on?
As well as watching Sling TV on your Windows and Mac desktop, and on the Chrome browser, you can also get the Sling TV app on iOS and Android. Sling TV is also available on Apple TV and Chromecast, as well as Sling TV on Roku and Sling TV on Fire Stick media streaming devices. Want to watch on your gaming console? You can access your Sling TV account on Xbox Series X and S.
How to watch Sling TV from outside the US
As Sling TV is only available for those in the US and Puerto Rico, this means all of its content is geo-locked and you'll be unable to load the website or the app when outside of the country.
If you happen to be abroad and want to watch something on Sling TV, though, all is not lost. With a VPN, you can bypass geo-restrictions. Simply hop onto a server within the US, which will then change your device's IP address and unblock Sling TV and other streaming service platforms to use as if you were right at home.
Our top recommended provider is ExpressVPN if you're after a streaming VPN. It's fast, secure and ridiculously easy to install and use. Plus, you can use it for 30 days risk-free to give it a try, and get your money back in full if you decide you no longer want it.
Sling TV vs Hulu vs Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video vs HBO Max
In terms of Sling TV's offering, its closest comparison is Hulu, which offers live broadcasting, too. For $35 a month, Sling TV's baseline Blue and Orange packages are far more affordable than the Hulu with Live TV core package, which will set you back $69.99 monthly. While Sling TV is more affordable with a potential choice of 200+ channels, Hulu certainly wins out in terms of quality and its number of networks, boasting quality TV and movies, as well as its very own Hulu Originals.
YouTube TV bags you 90 channels and a ton of coverage for sporting events, with unlimited DVR storage, allowing you to record live programming to watch back later, whereas for Sling TV you'll have to pay $5 extra a month for the privilege of 200 more hours of storage.
FuboTV starts from double the cost with its entry-level package, though it does triple the channel line-up available, also exceeding the likes of Hulu and YouTube TV, as well as Sling TV.
While Sling TV Blue and Orange separate interests between news and entertainment, and sports and family content, FuboTV's Starter plan engulfs a little bit of everything, including Logo, MTV, Fox, BBC World News, as a part of its 110 channel package.
In terms of live TV, the comparisons stop there. Still, when we look at top dogs in the streaming wars like Netflix, it is thought by Sling TV that these can work in tandem. Sling TV gives you that live broadcast fix without the hefty cable package price, with additional on-demand content, throwing in your favorite streaming service to a monthly outgoing that still falls way below the average cable cost.
You can find more information about how to sign up to Sling here. If you’re still unsure whether it’s the ideal choice for you, we’ve also compared the best TV streaming services currently available in more detail.
