You have a lot of options when it comes to live TV streaming. But when I was looking for a solution to watch NFL RedZone this season, I settled on Sling TV as my chosen provider. Until this year, I had used YouTube TV, but this experience with Sling leads me to believe I may never go back.
1. The Best Prices
The prices for live streaming continue to go up, thanks to those pricey sports rights. But Sling TV’s lineup is the cheapest you can get while still maintaining most of the important channels. Philo is technically cheaper, but it doesn’t offer sports.
Sling starts at $40 / month, but you can jump in with 50% off your first month. When football season rolled around, they offered an unbeatable 5-month package deal. That will get me through the football season, and I can choose whether or not to continue after that.
Sling helps you save money as long as you’re willing to compromise on your channel lineup. In Chicago, I still get ABC, Fox, and NBC, but those networks aren’t available in all areas. Sling doesn’t have CBS in any market, but I solved that issue with an antenna. Another option would be to sign up for Paramount+, which has an option to add your live, local CBS feed.
Is it a little annoying to have to jump out of Sling each time you want to watch a major channel or two? Sure. But are those channels worth spending another $30/month? I spent $30 one time on an antenna and I’ll get local channels for free for the rest of my life. You can get started with one of these models:
One For All HDTV Indoor Antenna
Up to 25 Mile Range
Mohu Leaf 50
Up to 60 Mile Range
2. Channel Flexibility
Sling has two primary lineups: Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Each is $40 / month.
Both lineups give you A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg TV, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Comet TV, Food Network, Fuse, HGTV, History, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Local Now, Maker, MGM+ Drive-In, Nick Jr., PlayersTV, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, and Vice TV.
You should choose Blue if you want to add ABC, Bravo, Discovery, E!, Fox, Fox News, FS1, FX, HLN, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NFL Network, Syfy, TLC, truTV, and USA Network.
And you should choose Orange if you’d like to watch Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Freeform, and MotorTrend Network.
Or you can get all of the channels above for $55 / month.
On top of that, you have several add-on package options. It’s important to note that the channels available in the add-on may vary, depending if you have Orange or Blue or the combo plan. But each of these are just $6/month.
Entertainment Extra gives you No Channels.
Kids Extra provides Baby TV, Boomerang, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Duck TV, Nicktoons, Sling Kids, and TeenNick.
Lifestyle Extra offers Afro, Cooking Channel, FYI, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Family, Hallmark Mystery, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Oxygen, VH1, Vibrant TV, WE tv, and Z Living HD.
News Extra bolsters your lineup with BBC World News, CGTN, CNBC, Euronews, Fox Business Network, France 24, Fusion, Law&Crime, NDTV 24/7, News18, NewsmaxTV, NewsNation, Science, and WeatherNation.
Hollywood Extra adds Bounce TV, Cinemoi, Fandor Festival, FXM, FXX, Grit, HDNet Movies, Heroes & Icons, Reelz, Start TV, SundanceTV, and TCM.
And Heartland Extra unlocks American Heroes, Cowboy Channel, Destination America, Great American Family, Great American Faith & Living, Great American Country, Nat Geo Wild, Outdoor Channel, PixL, Pursuit, RFD TV, and Sportsman Channel.
There are also ways to combine those packages to save more.
If you want international channels, they have packages for various countries named Ala Keifak, Chinese, Brasil Mini + Globoplay, Français, Italiano, Desi Binge, Centroamérica, México, Caribe, Sudamérica, and España.
The most expensive add-on is Sports Extra at $15/month, but that gives you ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, beIN Sports, Big Ten Network, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, Fox Sports 2, Golf Channel, Longhorn Network, MLB Network, MLB Network Strike Zone, NBA TV, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, SEC Network+, and Tennis Channel.
We love this flexibility because we’re not locked into an obnoxiously expensive plan with channels we don’t want to pay for. While there’s a lot to like about a service like Fubo, you’re stuck paying for regional sports networks you may not watch. That’s not a problem with Sling.
I tend to watch the same 3-4 cable channels, so I want the least expensive, most reliable option. That’s Sling. There’s really no competition.
3. Great Promo Deals
Sling tends to be really thoughtful about their deals. They even have a dedicated website to all their sales. That site changes throughout the year with new promos. As I mentioned, Sling grabbed my attention with a bargain-basement deal for the duration of the NFL season. Now they’re offering a cheap deal for the college sports season.
If you sign up today, you’ll get 30 free days of Showtime and MGM+.
The folks at Sling understand that we may not need TV during the summer, or we may only want live TV to follow a specific sport. By offering these bargains, they give us what we need at a good discount. It’s a refreshing approach, and one we wish their competitors would embrace.
4. Free Premium Channel Trials
Throughout the year, Sling gives its subscribers some fun freebies. In just the last few months, Sling has offered free trials of NBA League Pass, Pac-12 Network, Hallmark Channel, discovery+, and even the entire Entertainment Extra package for a whole month.
It’s a great way to experience new content.
5. A Smarter DVR
While most live TV streamers offer a great unlimited DVR, that can be overkill. You’ll be forced to record every airing of every show. My beloved “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN airs 3-4 times a day on various channels, so it’s annoying to find the one specific episode you want from the huge number of recordings.
Sling’s DVR is smarter. You can record just one episode of a show or the whole series. You can set it to record only new episodes or reruns as well.
If there’s a show you want to keep, you can “lock” it so it won’t get deleted to make room for something else.
When you delete shows, they go to a “trash” folder where they sit for 48 hours before being deleted. That will save you if you mistakenly try to delete something you wanted to keep.
The base Sling package comes with 50 hours of DVR time, but you can upgrade to 200 hours for $5/month. We do wish it were unlimited, but remember, we’re trying to save money. If you set up your DVR correctly, 50 hours shouldn’t be a problem for most homes.
Final Thoughts
When I first considered Sling, the number of options seemed intimidating, but it’s really not as difficult as it seems. Head to our Service Matchmaker and enter all the channels you want. It will tell you which Sling package is right for you. You can also scale your package up or down throughout the year.
I’ve been streaming TV for a very long time, starting with the dearly departed PlayStation Vue before switching to YouTube TV for three years. But when I wrote up this year's NFL streaming overview, I did the math and realized how much money I could save with Sling. It’s always a little scary to try a new service, but I’ve been happy. I get all the channels I need and I’m saving a fair amount of money.
The antenna factor may be a dealbreaker for some, but it’s honestly not that difficult to make the adjustment. Is it worth $360/year to remove a minor annoyance? Not for me.
When it’s time to reconsider your live TV streaming options, I recommend giving Sling a long, hard look. Try it for a month at 50% off and see if it meets your needs. I was pleasantly surprised, and you will be, too.
Sling TV
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service that helps users save money with the option of two distinct plans. The $40/month “Sling Orange” plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $40/month “Sling Blue” plan offers about 40 channels, including Fox and NBC local channels.