Will DIRECTV Shut Down Sling TV Once It Acquires DISH?

The traditional TV world underwent a seismic shift last week as DIRECTV announced that it will purchase DISH combining the two largest satellite TV companies in the United States into the biggest single pay-TV provider in the country, surpassing both Comcast and Spectrum. In addition to the satellite component of the deal, DIRECTV operates multiple streaming services, including DIRECTV STREAM and DIRECTV Via Internet, while DISH owns live TV streaming service Sling TV. So while the merging of two satellite TV titans will deservedly draw significant attention, there are some interesting ramifications on the streaming side of the deal as well.

At the forefront of the minds of customers of those services very well might be what happens next? Will DIRECTV simply shut down Sling and migrate all of its customers to DIRECTV STREAM? Will DIRECTV STREAM absorb Sling’s lower-cost, skinnier channel packages? Or will DIRECTV just maintain the status quo by keeping both platforms operating independently? While any and all options are possible, I believe that there’s really only one way for DIRECTV to go.

While Sling TV and DIRECTV STREAM provide fundamentally similar services, they do so in markedly different ways. DIRECTV STREAM essentially replicates its satellite service by offering the largest number of broadcast and cable channels available on a live TV streaming service. While this provides cord-cutting customers with an experience familiar to them from their days with a cable or satellite package, it does lead to one of the highest-priced subscription rates in the industry. DIRECTV’s base price starts at $87 per month, with packages going up to $170 monthly.

Sling, on the other hand, provides many of the top broadcast and cable channels, but not all of them; and the packages that it offers are far more limited in scope. However, that means that prices are also considerably lower every month. In fact, with Sling’s base rate at just $40 per month, and following DIRECTV's price increase last weekend, Sling is more than 54% less what DIRECTV STREAM charges. There are, of course, other options to add channels onto your Sling subscription, which could increase the price, but even at its most expensive, the skinnier-bundle streamer doesn’t approach the price — or channel offerings — of DIRECTV STREAM.

So, with two disparate streaming options coming under the same corporate umbrella, what will DIRECTV do? While there are myriad different options on the table for the soon-to-be mega-company, the most likely would seem to be the one that allows it to capitalize on the brand trust and recognition that Sling has — including being named U.S. News and World Report's top live TV streaming service for 2024 — while also minimizing the costs to operate the services.

Therefore, I envision a situation where the Sling brand survives the merger, but essentially in name only. There are just two many redundant costs associated with operating two similar, but separate streaming services. It simply doesn’t make fiscal sense to have one team working on Sling’s marketing, tech, or programming and a completely different group of people doing so for DIRECTV STREAM, especially when having lower-priced subscription options fits into DIRECTV’s stated vision for its service.

As we have increasingly seen across the industry, I imagine that there will be a merger of the streamers, at least on the backend. The user experiences will likely begin to look very similar, whether Sling adopts DIRECTV’s interface, vice versa, or an entirely new UI is created. The two platforms could maintain their own individual smart TV and streaming device apps, but in my opinion, they will eventually become mirror images of each other in every way that matters.

However, it wouldn’t behoove anyone to discard the Sling branding altogether, which is why DIRECTV should keep the Sling name alive. For years, the streamer has been the premier platform for cost-effective streaming without having to sacrifice too many of the channels that you want to watch. So whether DIRECTV decides to operate Sling as a separate service in name only, or if Sling packages will eventually be available on DIRECTV STREAM, I’m not sure, but it would be foolish to let Sling go altogether.

On DIRECTV STREAM’s base Entertainment package, you can get 31 of The Streamable’s top 35 channels. By opting for the next-level Choice package (for $115 monthly) you can get all 35. However, on Sling, its base Blue plan will get you 17 of the top 35 channels, while the base Orange option has 24. You can also sign up for both Orange and Blue for $55 monthly and get 27 of the top 35 channels. Obviously, all of the options for both DIRECTV STREAM and Sling have other channels in addition to the ones inside the top 35, but the most in-demand channels are generally the ones that attract most of the attention.

For years, millions of customers have been more than happy to give up a handful of top channels in exchange for a significantly cheaper monthly bill, so it would not be the best business decision for DIRECTV to force those customers to try other skinny bundles like Philo or Frndly TV instead. I would imagine that DIRECTV would keep existing Sling subscribers on identical (or at least very similar) plans once the merger happens, even if eventually they begin to look slightly different. The acquisition of DISH and Sling TV comes at an especially opportune time for DIRECTV as it has recently won the ability to create smaller, genre-specific channel lineups following a tenuous carriage and retransmission dispute with Disney.

This will undoubtedly be part of DIRECTV’s demands as it heads into all future negotiations with channel owners. DIRECTV has long bemoaned the restraints that carriage deals have put on it, and is looking to find ways to offer cheaper options that keep customers subscribed. As the company is able to build out these more-focused offerings, it would make sense to offer them under the Sling brand. Let DIRECTV STREAM and DIRECTV Via Internet continue to replicate the full, cable-and-satellite-like experience that some customers are looking for while Sling is focused on catering to a more cost-conscious or channel-agnostic consumer base by offering smaller entertainment-specific packages, sports-specific packages, news-specific packages, and more.

It will take some time for DIRECTV and DISH to finalize the acquisition, so this will likely all be speculation for at least six to 12 months, but there is too much goodwill associated with the name Sling TV for DIRECTV to completely abandon it, and way too much cost associated with operating dueling streaming services to keep them both running separately. So when all is said and done, I foresee Sling surviving the forthcoming merger, even if it is just as the name of DIRECTV STREAM’s lower-priced channel lineups.