Streaming Services – Sling TV

Our Verdict

Sling TV offers access to a decent VOD library and 500+ worldwide channels for free. If you choose a premium subscription, you can watch premium live TV channels. With add-ons, you can unlock thousands of hours of on-demand content, including high-quality movies and shows.

The streaming platform is compatible with an extensive list of devices and supports multiple user profiles and simultaneous streaming with some subscriptions. Its Rewards program is an interesting concept to show appreciation for loyal viewers.

Overall, Sling TV is far from some high-end streaming services. However, it offers great value and it is a decent and affordable choice.

Pros

It offers a 100% free subscription with 500+ channels and a VOD librar...
Affordable premium packages and vast add-on options.
Excellent compatibility and support for multiple device types.
An intuitive interface ensures simple navigation.
Reliable streaming quality without buffering issues.

Cons

The Orange package only supports streaming on a single device at a tim...
The VOD content library isn’t that extensive unless you pay for add-on...
Customer support could be better.

Products & Pricing

Sling Freestream is an ideal subscription option that’s free forever. It offers a decent package of news, entertainment, international, and Latino channels. You can stream them 24/7 for free, and even receive some incentives for watching via the Rewards program.

Sling premium options are quite affordable for a streaming service. Their package selection comes down to Free, Orange, Blue, or a combined subscription.

Free

This plan is free forever and includes 500+ free channels, and 40,000 on-demand shows and movies.

Orange

If you choose the Orange package, you get 25-30 base channels, and 6-8 exclusives. Depending on the location, these could be Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Freeform, QVC, and MotorTrend. The price is $40 monthly, but there’s a limitation for streaming only on one device at a time.

Blue

The Blue package comes with the same range of base channels. However, it offers 13+ exclusives. These are live local channels, Discovery, Fox Sports 1, MSNBC, NFL Network, National Geographic, TLC, truTV, and others. The exact list depends on your zip code. This subscription also has the advantage that you can stream on three devices at a time. The cost for the Blue package starts at $40 monthly but could be higher in some locations.

Orange + Blue

The last option is the Orange + Blue subscription. It essentially allows getting all exclusive channels at a lower price. You pay $55-$60 for the combination.
All subscriptions also have a 50% discount for the first month, and there are some promotions that could grant an entire month for free.*

Sling also has premium streaming add-on deals for Starz, AMC+, Paramount+ with Showtime, Discovery+ Pass, and others. These usually cost $3 to $9 monthly each, but there’s a Premium Pass that activates a bundle of add-ons at a lower price. DVR storage is free for up to 50 hours, and you can pay $5 monthly for up to 200 hours of DVR.

Free Forever

Try now for free

Orange

$40 /mo

Blue

$40 /mo

Orange + Blue

$55 /mo

In-depth review

Content Library

Sling Freestream offers over 500 channels, featuring a wide range of content. News channels include local Fox channels, USA Today, and AccuWeather. Entertainment options range from Wired, GameShow Central, and BBC Sci-Fi to comedy channels like AFV Family and Fail Army, along with documentary channels such as Wild Ocean and Living History. Movie channels include Filmrise, Cinevault, and Doctor Who Classic, while family-friendly and gaming channels feature PlayKids and IGN1. Sports enthusiasts can enjoy Fubo Sports and the World Poker Tour, among others. Sling Premium provides approximately 25 to 30 base channels across all packages, including CNN, BBC America, Food Network, and Cartoon Network.

The free version of Sling TV offers access to 40,000 TV shows and movies. Popular TV shows on Sling include “South Park”, “Yellowstone”, and “Fear the Walking Dead”. The movie selection features titles like “Deadpool” on FX, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on Showtime, and classics like “Moneyball” on AMC. The Guide feature helps users easily find available content in their location.

Some content might require subscribing to add-ons. The default content library isn’t that impressive, but you can unlock thousands of extra hours of premium content via add-ons. The streaming quality is in high definition (HD), ensuring a clear viewing experience. Some content is available in 4K and high dynamic range (HDR) quality, depending on the channel and the device being used.

User Interface

If you’ve used a streaming service before, you’ll feel right at home with Sling TV. The main menu is on the left and it’s easy to navigate to the desired section.
Under MY TV, you can select your favorite channels, see recent viewing history, and continue watching previously viewed content, as well as manage DVR recordings. The Guide is quite intuitive and allows two options when searching. It’s the Grid Guide and the Channels Guide.

The exact accessibility depends on the device, but the important thing is that the layout is intuitive. Loading times are fast, and Sling will also display search results in seconds. The search results and the selected content are accurate and relevant.

Personalization

Sling TV allows the creation of up to four user profiles on a single account. That’s vital for personalization, especially since you can name and color-code each profile to recognize different users. However, streaming simultaneously is only available on Blue or combo O+B packages.

Under each profile, users can pick their favorite movies, channels, and TV shows. The home screen will display different content accordingly. It will also offer options to continue watching particular content. It remembers where you stopped watching for all profiles, even if you’ve accessed the same show. That makes it easy to identify and find your favorite content.

Performance

The streaming quality on Sling TV is very satisfactory. While some channels are available in 4K, most are in 720p. Importantly, there are no buffering issues, and everything runs smoothly. While there’s no direct download option, you can use DVR storage to record content and watch it offline.

Sling is compatible with a wide range of devices, including the following:

TVs & Players: You can watch on Samsung, LG, Apple TV, Android TV, and others. The support also exists for Chromecast, Amazon Fire, AIrTV Mini, Roku, Tivo Stream, Vizio, etc.
Phones & Computers: Sling supports iOS 11 and newer, Android mobile phones, and Amazon Fire tablets. You can use Safari and Chrome web browsers to access the service.
Gaming Consoles: Sling TV is compatible with the Xbox Series X and S.

Accessibility

Closed captions are available under Player Controls. They work well across all devices, and you can find subtitles for most movies and TV shows. Sling TV has a fine range of channels available in Spanish, and you can find them in the separate Latino category.

Parental control options are decent on Sling. You can block content by TV rating, or set a PIN to access specific content. It’s also possible to prevent movie rentals via the app to ensure children don’t buy any content without your permission.

Additional Resources

Sling TV has a Rewards program worth mentioning. It’s necessary to have a registered account. If you watch 30 minutes daily, you get entries to monthly sweepstakes. Bonus entries are secured when watching multiple days in a row. The prizes include a free month of using Sling TV and cash rewards up to $10,000.*

Customer Service

Sling TV customer service could be somewhat better, especially for unregistered users. To get assistance, you can use the Help Center, which offers FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and support articles, or access 24/7 live chat for real-time help. Email support is also available. From what we observed, contacting a live agent is not an option. While some phone numbers can be found on third-party sites, the official Sling TV website does not provide any contact numbers.

Live Online Chat

There is a live chat on their site.

Users can contact support via email for help.

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