Bevy of channels for $20 per month.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Dish Network has decided to kick off the new year with a major foray into the online media market. The company announced Sling TV, its new Internet television service, at the International Consumer Electronics Show on Monday. Dish’s new offering will stream a bevy of channels– without cable– for $20 a month.
Dish’s greatest asset is a deal with Disney that gives it access to the ESPN family of channels. Sling TV’s inclusion of ESPN is a major coup; it alleviates a serious concern beleaguering many who are apprehensive about cutting the cord — live sports.
ESPN took top billing in last year’s cable ratings, sweeping key demographics while also garnering the most viewers. According to Variety, the sports network’s telecast of the college football championship last January was 2014’s most watched cable program with an audience of 25.75 million.
The rest of Sling TV’s package will include channels from Time Warner’s Turner and Scripps. About 20 channels will be available all together, such as TBS, the Disney Channel, TNT, ABC Family, the Food Network, the Travel Channel, Cartoon Network, and HGTV.
Sling TV will be usable on an assortment of internet-enabled televisions, mobile apparatuses, and streaming devices such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV. The price tag is far less than most consumers pay for cable or satellite, and the internet service won’t require specialized equipment such as receiver-dishes.
While Sling TV won’t offer any broadcast network channels, Dish deliberately omitted the lot in order to circumvent substantial fees for content that’s available elsewhere.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Roger Lynch, current Dish executive and future CEO of Sling TV, commented that it was a “strategic decision for us not to force people to pay for those networks again when they already have alternatives.”
By keeping the subscription fee low, Dish hopes to garner a sizeable user-base, which could then fuel significant funds from advertising. At some point, says Lynch, the company will probably offer a free version of Sling TV– sans some content, such as ESPN — that is supported entirely by ad revenue.