Dish Network’s Sling TV has joined the ranks of the rest of the virtual MVPD market and has upped its pricing.
Individually purchasing either the “Orange” or “Blue” base tier will now cost $30 a month. The popular combination of the two will now be priced at $45 a month, comparable with other vMVPD services.
Per Dish’s press release this morning, “Sports Extra is now $15 per month with Sling Orange and Sling Blue; Sports Extra remains $10 as an add-on to Sling Orange or Sling Blue. The 4 Extras Deal is now $12 per month, and the Total TV Deal is now $25 per month with Sling Orange + Sling Blue. Total TV Deal remains $20 per month as an add-on to either Sling Orang or Sling Blue.”
Sling TV is still one of the least expensive vMVPD packages, undercutting AT&T TV Now ($65 a month including HBO), Hulu with Live TV ($54.99, including the entire Hulu SVOD service), FuboTV ($54.99) and YouTube TV ($49.99).
The fledgling Vidgo, which just added ESPN and the rest of the Disney empire to its pre-paid lineup, now beats the Sling package, with an offering of 60 channels for $40 a month
The news- and sports-bereft Philo TV is the least expensive vMVPD on the market at $20 a month.
"Sling TV delivers unmatched value in streaming, while maintaining the flexibility and choice our customers know and love," said Warren Schlichting, executive VP and group president of Sling TV. "We have worked hard to maintain stable pricing, even as we have added more content and more features."
Notably, the price increase was buried in the statement below news about channel additions to the Blue tier. Ahead of the 2020 national election, Sling Blue will now feature Fox News, MSNBC and HLN, as well as a 10 hours of cloud DVR. CNN was already included in Orange, but Fox News wasn't previously available on the platform.
Meanwhile, several key networks will join the add-on packages: Fox Business Network was added to the Sling Blue News Extra tier, and the Big Ten Network will join the sports package. FXM and FXX will join Blue Hollywood Extra, and Nat Geo Wild will be added to Blue Heartland Extra.
