Dish?s new Sling TV service may shake up the cable industry

Satellite-based Dish network is about to offer a streaming service that may change the way millions of people buy televisions programming. The service, Sling TV, streams video programming “over-the-top” through your Internet connection. For some $20 a month, Sling will offer 30 channels, including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and – most innovative of all – ESPN sports channels.

It’s the sports that makes this service a ground-breaker. According to The Washington Post: “Live sports is pretty much the foundation for all paid television. It's the thing that holds the cable bundle together; without it, you'd wind up with a collection of mostly middling channels that few people would be inclined to pay for.”

Last summer, The Wall Street Journal published what cable providers pay networks per month, per subscriber. Obscure channels can cost as little as 10 cents a month. But, more popular ones cost considerably more: Fox News, $0.99; Disney, $1.21; TNT, $1.48. And, in a league all by itself is ESPN at $6.04.

That means that Sling TV is a theoretically fabulous deal for people who watch sports. You could add Netflix, HBO and Hulu and still come in well under $50 a month. But you still have to get Internet, and that cost may obviate any savings you get from your DIY TV selections. According to The Washington Post, it depends on where you live, what companies are active and whether there is competition. But, for high-speed broadband and a Sling TV plus package, very few people will be in business for under $100 a month.

Sling's over-the-top video streaming service comes on the heels of announcements by CBS and HBO, among others, of streaming video packages for their content. All this goes in a direction different from the traditional cable carriers, perhaps providing consumers a real alternative to the expensive cable bundle.

Dish’s new Sling TV is a huge deal. Here’s why. (The Washington Post, Jan. 6, 2015)
 
Mad About the Cost of TV? Blame Sports (The Atlantic, Apr. 2, 2013)
 
How Much Cable Subscribers Pay Per Channel (The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 5, 2014)