Cable TV Alternative

[LadyStache]

Dish Network just announced a new streaming service - Sling TV. Might be a good alternative for those of us that have trouble cutting the cord.

Priced at $20 per month, “The Best of Live TV” core package includes 12 Nielsen-rated sports, lifestyle, family and news networks: ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, ABC Family and CNN. There will be additional add-on packs available for $5/mo.

Additional details at the links below:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/05/sling-tv/
http://about.dish.com/press-release/products-and-services/sling-tv-launch-live-over-top-service-20-month-watch-tvs-tablets

[lauren_knows]

I just saw this posted somewhere else too.  This is such a gamechanger for the cordcutter world.  All the people that had apprehension about cutting the cord due to sports, now can have ESPN (and a variety of other good stations) for just $20/mo.   This plus Netflix, and I'm not sure why you would ever want to pay $80/mo+ for cable ever again.

[Shade00]

This is huge news, if for no other reason than it could signal the end (or at least be very disruptive) of the ridiculous channel packages offered by most cable companies. It looks like Sling may let you build your own package at some point, or at least pick the channels you want. If this package gets a few more channels (dream would be AMC and Comedy Central), I'd be all over it. Can't wait for more like these to come out!

[MoneyCat]

I am really excited about this, because I've been trying to figure out a way to get access to ESPN and ESPN2 without a cable package.  This is definitely a game-changer for me.

[UnleashHell]

no NBC?
is there any streaming platform for the nbc sports channel?

[LadyStache]

no NBC?
is there any streaming platform for the nbc sports channel?

According to the TechCrunch article:

Also missing are broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. According to Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch, that’s because most consumers are able to find programming from those networks elsewhere — like on Hulu, for instance. They could also just hook a digital antenna to their TVs as an alternative.

[slugline]

After Aereo flamed out at the Supreme Court, this is great news! If they could get the various regional sports networks on board, it would be perfect for me. At the very least, this should give the cable companies reason to pause before raising rates.

[kpd905]

Good idea that I might have to share with my dad.  He gets most of the network channels already with an antenna.

[fields]

This is good news--but not as good as Aereo was :(

But, this plus my current $65/month internet and home phone combo will be about the same price as if I added cable through my internet company.  Not a bargain, but it looks like maybe I could give up my Amazon Prime and Netflix services? 

[Paul der Krake]

$100 per college football season (5 months), not a great proposition but better than the alternative of dealing with the cable company. Now if only ESPN would sell their own brand directly... $5 a month for ESPN/ESPN2 and nothing else, anyone?

[C-note]

Game changer.

[lauren_knows]

Now if only ESPN would sell their own brand directly... $5 a month for ESPN/ESPN2 and nothing else, anyone?

It's going to be a while before we see that.  As this deal stands, I think ESPN is taking a huge cut in its licensing fees.  I've read that in the typical cable package, ESPN licensing fees is about $20 of your entire cable bill.  For ESPN to offer a standalone service at 1/4 the cost they currently get from cable packages would be unheard of.

[Scooter]

Not a good enough deal for me yet, but a promising sign that a la carte channel streaming is on the horizon. If I could pay a dollar or two per channel per month; I would definitely be in.

[Dalmuti]

This is definitely intriguing for me, but I'm concerned about DVR.  I love my sports but usually watch them on delay so I don't have to watch commercials.  Would the standalone DVRs work with no problem with this kind of streaming?

[CowboyAndIndian]

This is awesome, I will finally able to say goodbye to my cable provider. My DW refuses to cut cable for just one channel, HGTV, so she can watch house hunting porn.

Additionally, the ESPN/ESPN2 will reduce the grumbles from DS when he visits.

[TheThirstyStag]

Really cool, OP.  I wonder if this is the first real step in the a la carte direction.

I still see a huge roadblock, though.  Most people are still stuck in the near-monopoly situation with ISPs and only have one viable high speed broadband option at their home.  If a legitimate movement toward a la carte TV begins via streaming, I can imagine a rise in asshattery by ISPs charging premiums for internet-only plans.  Most ISPs already have a little surcharge for not carrying TV/Phone, and it can only get worse.  There's such a vicious conflict of (their own) interest with ISPs and streaming services. 

[Jack]

This is definitely intriguing for me, but I'm concerned about DVR.  I love my sports but usually watch them on delay so I don't have to watch commercials.  Would the standalone DVRs work with no problem with this kind of streaming?

The TechCrunch article says "The other thing missing is the ability to DVR content or save it for later. Sling TV is hoping to deal with this primarily by having rights to a lot of video-on-demand content that viewers can refer back to later."

This is awesome, I will finally able to say goodbye to my cable provider. My DW refuses to cut cable for just one channel, HGTV, so she can watch house hunting porn.

There's no need to get this service, let alone keep cable, just for HGTV:

http://www.hgtv.com/shows/house-hunters/house-hunters-full-episodes-videos

[AlanStache]

This is awesome, I will finally able to say goodbye to my cable provider. My DW refuses to cut cable for just one channel, HGTV, so she can watch house hunting porn.

There's no need to get this service, let alone keep cable, just for HGTV:

http://www.hgtv.com/shows/house-hunters/house-hunters-full-episodes-videos

Did not know they posted so much content, is great but my parental unit really just wants mindless HGTV show after mindless HGTV show with no active involvement - mainly for background noise or while going to sleep.  Pointing and clicking would not be done.  We tried hulu+ but they really suck for HGTV on a TV, on a computer they are ok/below average.  While I could connect a computer to the tv the parental unit would not use it.  We had cable for awhile but the 80$/mon was just hurt to much, 20$/mon might be below the pain threshold.  I am basically netflix only so all this would be 99% wasted on me.

[MillenialMustache]

I hope they move to letting you pick your own channels or something. If this had the History Channel and Discovery (some could be removed to replace that) I would totally be in and would seriously consider cutting Amazon Prime.

[CowboyAndIndian]

...

This is awesome, I will finally able to say goodbye to my cable provider. My DW refuses to cut cable for just one channel, HGTV, so she can watch house hunting porn.

There's no need to get this service, let alone keep cable, just for HGTV:

http://www.hgtv.com/shows/house-hunters/house-hunters-full-episodes-videos

Thank you. I shall be cable free once the boss approves ;-)

[Villanelle]

Anyone look into a Slingbox?  We live overseas and use one and love it.  After the initial hardware purchase, there is no cost at all, hough we send my parents $12 w month, which is what hey pay their cable company for an extra cable box with DVR.

Basically, a Slingbox takes the cable and puts it on the internet.  You log on to your Slibgbox account and an image of the remote that looks almost exactly like the real remote appears on top of the image from the cable box (which can be a world away), and you click the buttons just as you would push them in person, to control the TV.  Your TV screen acts as a monitor.

If the person hosting your Slingbox has fancy sports packages and premium channels, you would have access to that content.  You can even use pay per view, or anything that you could do if you were at their home and watching from the cable box in person.

No idea of the legal issues, if there are any, but we've been very pleased with it.

[Shade00]

Anyone look into a Slingbox?  We live overseas and use one and love it.  After the initial hardware purchase, there is no cost at all, hough we send my parents $12 w month, which is what hey pay their cable company for an extra cable box with DVR.

Basically, a Slingbox takes the cable and puts it on the internet.  You log on to your Slibgbox account and an image of the remote that looks almost exactly like the real remote appears on top of the image from the cable box (which can be a world away), and you click the buttons just as you would push them in person, to control the TV.  Your TV screen acts as a monitor.

If the person hosting your Slingbox has fancy sports packages and premium channels, you would have access to that content.  You can even use pay per view, or anything that you could do if you were at their home and watching from the cable box in person.

No idea of the legal issues, if there are any, but we've been very pleased with it.

Back in 08-09, my wife and I were living in different cities while I started law school and she finished undergrad. At the time, we had very little income so we set up a Slingbox in my condo - where cable TV was provided for free, just had to pay for internet - and she would access it from her apartment. It worked very well for standard definition content at the time. The one caveat was that it is very bandwidth intensive and will tie up an internet connection. I could not play Xbox online at all if she was watching TV.

Internet speeds have increased so this can still be a decent option for some people. But it requires someone willing to share, who is ultimately subsidizing the content. It also requires both parties to be paying for a decent internet connection with no bandwidth cap - unfortunately, many ISPs in the US are moving toward bandwidth caps, which is an absurdly transparent money-grab. But until there is significant competition in the ISP sector, or until the FCC steps in, things will only get worse.

[Villanelle]

In Germany, we don't have cable inernet available. (And no, we aren't out in the boonies.  That's jus the way it is here.)

We usually have between 1.5-2 mb speed, and the Slingbox works fine.  It definitely isn't an HD quality picture, but I don't need to see John Stuart in perfect clarity.  I have no idea what kind of internet package my parents have, but it they were going over caps or getting charged more, I'm sure they'd let us know.  We certainly aren't watching for hours and hours every day. 

The option might not be for everyone, and we have been very pleased with it and it seems like a cheap option to explore for those looking to cut the bill but not ready to give up cable.  You could even offer to toss $5 a month to a friend, in addition to paying for the extra cable box.  They don't incur any additional costs (other than the extra box) by hosting your Slingbox, but the $5 could be a token to thank them for helping you out. 

[FrugalKube]

We are seriously thinking about cutting cable. This with Amazon Prime and Netflix should be all that I need vs a $90 a month cable bill. I had heard good things about Sling TV so far. There are a few other services like Playstation Vue that could also be useful

[jacquespluto]

Sling TV has been great for us so far.  We use it through our Roku.  Our Comcast bill for TV + internet was over $150.  We now pay $30 for internet and $20 for Sling.  Wanted to cut cable all together, but we enjoy watching sports too much.

Sling does have a few kinks to work out (every once in a while you need to just unplug and restart), but overall we are happy especially given the price.  They also keep adding more channels - recently added History, AMC and IFC.  I do think that this is the future of TV.

[lise]

Amazon is offering a free fire stick or $50 discount off fire TV if you prepay for 3 months of sling.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1002997141&ref=DP_TV_Montoya_NA_Bundlex_DishHQP

I nearly signed up and decided my over the air aetenna/amazon prime hybrid is ok right now and already have a chromecast so don't need the fire stick.  I do miss HGTV/Food TV shows tho ;-)

[Ricky]

I do miss HGTV/Food TV shows tho ;-)

I'm not sure why. Neither are really about houses or cooking anymore. It's all reality TV and stupid competitions. Or, the mindless exercise of watching someone choose between houses over and over and trying to guess which one they'll get (aka House Hunters).

If you don't pay for cable how do you get the internet access to power all these other things?

You don't need cable TV service to get cable Internet service...