Sling TV Raises Monthly Rates As Fox Networks Join Lineup

Dade Hayes

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With new channels joining the programming lineup and new features being rolled out, Dish Network’s Sling TV is raising prices.

The internet-delivered bundle’s “Orange” and “Blue” tiers now cost $30 a month, up from $25. It now costs $45 to subscribe to a combination of Orange and Blue, up from $40.

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Sling, which got out in front of the pack by launching in 2015, said it has added Fox New Channel, Fox Business Network. The Fox broadcast network has already been on Sling in select markets, and Fox’s FS1 and FS2 sports networks are included in the Blue tier. The Big Ten Network — a joint venture between Fox and the Big Ten Conference — is set to launch on Sling in time for the start of the 2020-21 college football season.

Among the other channel changes, MSNBC has shifted from the Blue “News Extra” level to Blue “Base,” which makes it available to all Sling TV Blue subscribers.

In November, Dish said Sling added 200,000 subscribers in the third quarter to reach 2.7 million paying customers.

The updated pricing reflects not only the added channels but enhanced DVR functionality and other features.

“Sling customers have been clear: they want more live news and sports, and they want a cloud DVR included at purchase – and we listened,” Sling EVP and Group President Warren Schlichting said. “Over the past five years, we have proven our dedication to making Sling an exceptional value with unmatched flexibility. These announcements today are further proof points that Sling is the premier live streaming service.”

Once called “skinny bundles,” services like Sling began as slimmed-down alternatives to pay-TV. Following Sling, DirecTV, Hulu and YouTube entered the sector, which now represents about 10% of the total pay-TV ecosystem. Dish has recently reported solid results from Sling, but some rivals have stumbled or folded up shop entirely. AT&T Now (originally called DirecTV Now) has been consistently shedding subscribers as AT&T has implemented several price hikes. PlayStation Vue, a pay-TV package offered through Sony’s gaming platform, announced earlier this year it was discontinuing its service.

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