Sling TV: The Future of Television

As college students, most of us have never personally experienced the frustrations of setting up cable TV in our homes, but we have certainly seen the effects. Inflexible channel packages, long-term contracts with early-termination fees, and don't even get me started on taking a whole day off work just to wait for the cable guy to come set up your box in your home. Sometimes people just wanna say "MAKE IT STOP! There must be a better way!"

Well, thanks to Dish Network, there finally is. Say hello to the future of television: Sling TV. Sling TV is a very new service, just recently launching February 9th, 2015 across the United States, so I will give a quick background of what Sling TV actually is.

Could it be true?

Let's get something straight right now. Sling TV is not intended at its current structuring to fully replace your $100+ cable service that provides hundreds of channels, multiple DVRs in every room, etc. Its target audience are millennials and "cord-cutters" who either have never paid for cable TV or at one time did, but due to the rising popularity of Netflix & Hulu Plus decided to stop paying the high price to have 500 channels they never watch, yet still pay for. Being a millennial myself who has never paid for cable TV, Sling TV hits the sweet spot of what I look for in a TV experience.

Easy-to-use interface makes even Grandpa happy when watching March Madness

Here's how it works. For only $20/month (Yes, TWENTY DOLLARS A MONTH), you can get live TV from networks like ESPN, AMC, HGTV, TNT, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, and several more! The biggest selling point for many is ESPN & TNT, as live sports tends to be the one thing that keeps many people from cutting the cord with their cable service. 

If their base $20/month package doesn't give you all you need, don't fret! Sling TV has added 5 additional packages, so for only $5/month extra per package, you could add "Sports Extra" package, which adds channels like ESPNU, SEC Network, and ESPNEWS. Other packages include "Kids Extra", "Hollywood Extra", "World News Extra", and "Lifestyle Extra", all of which provide additional channels for only $5/month per package. They have assured their customers that as their customer base grows over time & new deals with TV networks come into affect, additional channels and packages will be available at no additional charge.

It doesn't get much better than this.

Say goodbye to long-term contracts & waiting on installations

Here's where it gets crazy. Instead of enticing customers with promotions & temporary discounts, Sling TV provides a no-nonsense product that simply delivers live TV in the manner people want it. Due to this mission, Sling TV requires NO long-term contract. Just like popular streaming services like Netflix & Spotify, Sling TV is a month-by-month service that requires no installation, fees, nothing. Just pay $20/month for the base package and cancel anytime you wish online.

In case you were worried about not having a device that it would be supported on, rest assured knowing they have you covered. Realizing that most of the media consumption nowadays comes from smartphones, tablets, and streaming devices, Sling TV currently supports a wide range of devices, including Apple & Android smartphones & tablets, Amazon Fire TV & TV Stick, Roku, Xbox One, Mac OS X & Windows, with the Nexus Player, Apple TV, and PS4 coming soon! So no matter where you are, just install the Sling TV app to your device, sign in with your account, and BAM! you are watching live television starting at only $20/month. 

At this point, you can only use one device at a time per account and picture quality falls just behind what you would typically find through a normal cable box, but Sling TV hopes to resolve both of these issues later this year as they continue to grow. 

As a soon-to-be college graduate that will be deciding on how to get live television into my apartment after graduation, Sling TV provides exactly what I could want out of a TV service: attractive pricing, flexible channel upgrades, large device support, and convenient agreement terms. I'm hoping Sling TV's success causes other cable companies to offer similar services this year, which will in turn develop the competition that always makes products better for consumers. The future looks bright for television, so the next time you are looking for a TV service provider, definitely check out Sling TV.