Sling TV’s streaming TV price goes up by $5.99 next month

By The Verge | Created at 2024-11-22 20:46:45 | Updated at 2024-11-23 01:59:20 5 hours ago

Sling TV cites ‘rising costs’ as the reason its service requires a price hike.

By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge.

Nov 22, 2024, 8:36 PM UTC

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A photo of the Sling TV and Dish logos at CES 2015.

Sling TV is increasing its monthly subscription prices by $5.99 for all of its plans starting in December. The streaming TV provider said “rising costs” are to blame for the price hikes without specifying why — presumably, not all six of those bucks are intended to pay for its “arcade” library of interactive games that just added Pac-Man and Trivia Crack.

There are two packages: Sling Orange, which includes Disney and ESPN networks, and Sling Blue, which includes Fox and NBC programming that previously cost $40 per month, individually. Now, they will cost $45.99 per month. There’s also the combo Sling Orange plus Blue, which offers a mix of both packages for $55 per month — but will go up to $61. Current subscribers will see the price change with their billing date on or after December 20th.

The company last increased its price by $5 per plan in 2022, the fourth time in five years.

Sling TV argues it still has the best pricing compared to competitors:

These increases are industry wide — other leading streaming providers have had increases throughout 2024. Despite this, Sling continues to be the most affordable option with offerings more than twenty dollars less per month versus other providers.

Sling continues to provide choice, by offering some of the lowest prices in paid live TV. Flexible add on packs are available for even further customization.

YouTube TV, likely Sling TV’s biggest competitor, offers its streaming TV service for $72.99 per month. Sling TV’s full $61 package is still cheaper and includes 4K, but it’s looking like less of a deal with the price increase considering spotty local channel support compared to Google’s offering.

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