Sling TV has 2m subs
July 10, 2017
By Chris Forrester
Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network spin-off, Sling TV, has more than 2 million subscribers, according to data from ComScore.
Dish Network itself does not break out its OTT subsidiary’s numbers.
Sling TV packages a suite of TV channels at a basic monthly fee, helped by low Subscriber Acquisition costs and with zero installation costs. Marketed as ‘Take Back TV, the service has been popular with a younger age group who want a portfolio of channels with the obligations of a full-fledged DTH service.
Over the past year or two Sling TV has added premium services such as HBO and Showtime and charges a higher fee for access.
Sling’s ‘base’ bundle costs just $5 a month. Adding in Sling ‘Orange’ (with ESPN, ESPN 2 and 3, ESPN Extra, Disney) costs another $15. Sling Blue adds more sports from Fox, FX, Nat-Geo, NBC, NFL, SyFy etc) for an additional $20. Sling TV also offers a number of linguistic variations for extra fees.
Sling made its debut in February 2015.
Dish Network’s subscriber numbers are – at best – stagnant in terms of growth. In Q1/2015 it claimed 13.98 million subs. By Q1/2017 that number – which includes Sling TV – had shrunk to just 13.53 million subs.