Sling Expands its Rewards Program to Additional Subscribers, Raises Grand Prize to $10,000
Sling’s new rewards program gives customers entries just for watching TV on their account every day.
If you’re not a Sling TV subscriber yet, now is the perfect time to sign up for the live TV streaming service. Sling announced today that it is launching what it calls stage two of its new rewards program, which will boost prize payouts and offer even more Sling TV customers a chance to win fantastic prizes, including free Sling TV or even cash!
- The grand prize of Sling’s rewards program has been boosted from $5,000 to $10,000 in stage two.
- In addition, 20 people will win $500 prizes, and 125 more will receive a free month of Sling service.
- To win rewards, viewers have to watch their Sling account for 30 minutes a day, with more entries granted for stacking viewing days in a row.
Sling first launched its rewards program in early February, and the initial stage ended on Feb. 19. Judging by the tone used to describe stage one of the program by Sling officials, it was as rousing of a success as the company could have hoped for.
“Stage one of Rewards was so successful that we’re going bigger for stage two,” DISH Video Services group president Gary Schanman said. “We want more of our subscriber base to fall in love with it the way others have. We are increasing the payouts and prizes and inviting more people to play. We want to make sure our customers and users have a voice and help drive what our program looks like.”
The first stage of Sling rewards provided one winner with a $5,000 prize. In stage two, the payout has been increased to $10,000, while 20 people will receive $500 (around the cost of a full year of Sling Orange or Blue) and 125 people will receive a free month of Sling TV. Winners of stage two prizes will be informed of their prize on or around Tuesday, March 19.
Sling has not expanded its rewards to all subscribers yet; customers will still need to be invited to the program in order to participate. Once they are invited, they must watch 30 minutes of programming on their Sling account to get 10 entries. The more consecutive days a viewer watches for 30 minutes, the more entries they get; for example, viewing 30 minutes per day for five consecutive days will give the watcher 50 entries on the fifth day. Customers can earn a maximum of 70 entries per day.
Why is Sling Rolling Out its Rewards Program So Quickly?
There aren’t many streaming services out there that offer a rewards program like Sling’s. The service is used to standing out amongst its peers, as its starting price point of $40 per month is significantly less than competitors like YouTube TV or Fubo.
Still, the struggles of Sling TV’s parent company might explain why it’s seemingly put a fast track on its new rewards initiative. An SEC filing made last week by EchoStar, which owns Sling TV and its linear counterpart DISH indicates that both DISH and Sling have had a hard time retaining subscribers, a conclusion reinforced by the fact that the two services combined to lose more than 310,000 customers in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone.
It’s doubtful that the Sling rewards strategy will be enough to save the streamer alone if concerns about DISH heading for bankruptcy are as well-founded as some analysts believe. However, considering how pleased Sling executives were with the first stage of the program, it seems to be an undoubted boon for the service thus far.
“Every day we are looking for ways to improve Sling and its entire experience for our subscribers and users,” added Schanman. “Rewards allows us to show them how much fun Sling is. We are committed to providing our subscribers with the ultimate streaming experience, and stage two of Rewards is just another way we are delivering on that promise. We are only getting started, there is so much more planned for 2024.”
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.