Sling TV Archives - Media Play News

Cinedigm Expands FAST Partnership With Sling TV

Cinedigm March 9 announced a distribution deal with Sling TV for select branded free ad-supported streaming television channels, including Midnight Pulp, The Country Network and AsianCrush now available on Sling Freestream. The new agreement expands Cinedigm’s FAST presence to more than 12 channels on Sling’s ad-supported streaming platform.

Midnight Pulp includes a curated selection of genre and cult movies; The Country Network features country music superstars and music; and AsianCrush, offering pan-Asian entertainment.

Other Cinedigm channels on Freestream include Screambox TV, featuring horror content platform, The Bob Ross Channel, offering the entire four decades of “The Joy of Painting,” anime-themed RetroCrush, Comedy Dynamics, featuring stand-up comedy, Realmadrid TV, dedicated to the Spanish soccer team, and Docurama.

“Our extensive portfolio complements Sling’s array of [FAST] channel offerings,” Jennifer Soltesz, VP of business development and strategy at Cinedigm, said in a statement, adding the additional FAST channel distribution should be a boon to advertisers.

“We know advertisers will respond to Cinedigm’s diverse channel offerings on this innovative streaming platform,” she said.

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Dish Lost 152,000 Sling TV Subscribers in 2022

Dish Feb. 23 reported its lost 152,000 Sling TV subscribers in the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2022, to end the year with 2.334 million subscribers, down from 2.486 million subs at the end of 2021.

The decrease in net Sling subscribers was primarily related to higher churn (subscribers not renewing the service) following seasonal sports activity and lower new subscriber activations.

“We continue to experience increased competition, including competition from other subscription VOD and live-linear, over-the-top video service providers,” Dish said in a statement.

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The Colorado-based satellite pay-TV operator launched Sling in 2015 as a pioneering $20 monthly online pay-TV service — the first platform to offer standalone access to ESPN outside the traditional pay-TV bundle.

Disney-owned Hulu + Live TV leads the online pay-TV market with 4.5 million monthly subscribers, ahead of YouTube TV, Philo, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream, among others.

Dish ended 2022 with 7.416 million legacy satellite subscribers, which was down 805,000 subs from 8.221 million subs at the end of 2021.

Sling TV Launches First Branded FAST Platform ‘Sling Freestream’

Online TV service Sling TV Feb. 9 launched its first free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) service — Sling Freestream. Launched on the platform’s eighth birthday, Freestream is available with a subscription on the Sling app on all Roku devices, and is rolling out across Comcast, LG, Samsung, Vizio and Xbox devices. Freestream will roll out across all Sling-compatible devices throughout the coming months.

“[FAST] is a great new service that helps meet consumers’ evolving needs,” Gary Schanman, group president of Sling TV, said in a statement.

Sling Freestream delivers more than 210 channels and 41,000 on-demand titles. Genres include everything from news, sports, game shows and crime dramas to sitcoms, animal antics, nature, home improvement, cooking and more.

Sling Freestream users also have the ability to subscribe to more than 50 standalone streaming services such as AMC+, Discovery+, MGM+, Showtime Anytime and/or add a Sling Orange or Sling Blue base service priced from $40 monthly.

Future Sling Freestream features include universal search functionality, enhanced channel surfing, updated guide filters, autoplay capabilities and more.

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“Built on the same advertising tech that powers Sling, Freestream is yet another opportunity for us to lead, innovate and deliver a greater impact for our advertisers,” Schanman said.

Sling TV, which launched in February 2015 as the first online TV service and first platform to offer standalone access to ESPN, ended the most-recent fiscal period with 2.4 million subscribers.

Dish: Sling TV Added 214,000 Subs in Q3 to Top 2.4 Million

Dish Nov. 2 announced that its pioneering online TV platform Sling TV added 214,000 subscribers in the third quarter (ended Sept. 30). The additions brought the platform’s subscriber base past 2.4 million. The tally is down from more than 2.5 million subs in the previous-year period.

Dish launched Sling in 2015 as the first online TV platform aimed at curbing online pay-TV subscriber defections to subscription VOD services. The online TV market is now led by Hulu + Live TV, which ended the most-recent fiscal period with 4 million subscribers.

Meanwhile, Dish saw further erosion of its legacy satellite TV service, ending the quarter with 7.6 million subs, down from 8.4 million in Q3 2021. Dish’s total pay-TV footprint topped 10 million subs — down nearly 1 million (980,000) subs from 2021.

At the same time, Dish continues to spend more acquiring satellite TV subs. The company spent more than $1,000 in marketing costs acquiring a subscriber in the quarter, compared with $824 in the prior-year quarter.

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Tastemade Launches Home Streaming Channel, Hires Evan Bregman as GM of Streaming

Tastemade Oct. 20 announced the launch of Tastemade Home, a new 24/7 channel designed for homeowners and renters. The channel joins Tastemade’s existing branded streaming video channels, including Tastemade Travel and Tastemade en Español.

Paired with Tastemade’s existing programming in the food and travel spaces, Tastemade Home will continue to deepen the company’s roots in the lifestyle streaming space premiering 27 global shows (more than 200 hours of content) in 2022 alone, and currently reaching more than 150 million households in more 60 countries.

Tastemade Home features original series include “Beyond the Block,” a home buying show in partnership with Realtor.com. The series features first-time homebuyers and focuses on the neighborhoods and the people in them, and it is currently in its third season with host Andrew Tyree. New series will include, “Weekend Refresh,” hosted by Tia Mowry, based on Tastemade’s successful social series, which highlights home improvement makeovers in just 48 hours.

In addition, Tastemade has brought on digital media executive, Evan Bregman, to serve as GM of Streaming. Bregman will report to Tastemade’s co-founder/CEO, Larry Fitzgibbon, and will oversee and drive the viewership and growth of the company’s streaming business.

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Prior to joining Tastemade, Bregman was VP, head of business operations at Rooster Teeth, the original gaming lifestyle brand where he oversaw the strategic operation of Rooster Teeth’s direct-to-consumer business.

Additional new and upcoming shows on Tastemade include:

“Dream Home Makeovers” featuring U.K. interior designer Sophie Robinson as she pushes brave homeowners just beyond their comfort zones to create eye-popping interiors that are cozy to live in and amazing to look at.
“The Great Garden Revolution” showcases a team of expert designers and gardeners transforming outdoor spaces while supplying ideas that viewers can use to makeover gardens of any size or shape.
“Gok’s Fill Your House for Free” shows how to take homes from shabby to chic on a thrifty budget. Gok Wan turns his attention from clothes to house interiors as he meets families who are desperate to give their homes a makeover but have little money to spend.
“The Home Team” joins Anthony Scott and Leah McLeod in their workshop as they help out homeowners with their renovations by making homemade solar lights, hardwood benches, vertical gardens, and more.

Cinedigm Adds FAST Channel ‘RetroCrush’ to Sling TV Platform

Cinedigm Oct. 6 announced the launch of RetroCrush, one of its free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels on Dish-owned Sling TV. This deal expands Sling’s partnership with Cinedigm to include 14 channels, available free to consumers with no credit card or payment required.

RetroCrush (www.retrocrush.tv) is dedicated to the Golden Age of anime, tapping into enthusiastic and passionate viewers of the genre. Offering a wide range of classic anime TV and movies, the platform currently includes more than 100 series and 40 features.

Cinedigm channels on Sling include Bloody Disgusting TV, The Bob Ross Channel, offering “The Joy of Painting”, Comedy Dynamics, go-to stand-up comedy destination, Realmadrid TV, dedicated to the Spanish soccer team, family-themed Dove Channel, pop culture powerhouse CONtv, documentary destination Docurama, as well as The Only Way is Essex, MyTime TV, The Elvis Presley Channel, So … Real, Film Detective and Lonestar.

“The expansion of our partnership with Sling embraces [our] mission to bring its channels to the widest enthusiast audiences possible,” John Stack, senior director of Cinedigm business development, said in a statement.

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Sling TV Gets Creative in College Football Marketing Campaign

Sling TV Sept. 6 announced it is working with creative agency Mekanism to launch a national television advertising campaign that re-creates five iconic college football moments using a 90-camera technique to bring back the memorable on-field plays.

Sling’s “Channel Your Football” campaign is intended as a tribute to the game of college football, showcasing some of the greatest plays in modern-day history — from Michigan fumbling a rivalry win to an Iron Bowl match-up to remember. The spot underscores Sling’s ongoing innovations to help enhance watching live sports, including real-time sports scores, and Watch Party to stream the game with friends virtually and the DraftKings Sportsbook.

The ad spot was created by director Olivier Gondry, who pioneered the 90-camera technique used to create a 3D effect. The ad reenacts the “Miracle in Miami” Hail Mary; “Kick-Six” Alabama vs. Auburn; Michigan State’s Miracle Punt Fumble vs. Michigan; “The Play” Cal vs. Stanford, and “The Pose” Michigan vs. Ohio State.

Sling’s college football games include live coverage on ESPN and Pac-12 Networks starting at $35 per month. New Sling subscribers receive half off ($17.50) their first month fee.

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Sling TV Adds AMC+ Streaming Service

Dish’s pioneering online television streaming platform Sling TV has added access to the AMC+ subscription streaming service — for an additional fee. Starting Aug. 24, Sling subscribers can get AMC+ as an á la carte streaming service for $8.99 per month.

In addition to original series such as “Better Call Saul,” AMC+ includes video on-demand channels Sundance Now, Shudder and IFC Films Unlimited.

Some of the featured on-demand movies and series include:

Moonhaven: A skeptic in Paradise, Earth pilot Bella Sway is sucked into a conspiracy to gain control of Moonhaven, a utopian colony on the Moon 100 years in the future. She teams up with a local detective to stop forces from destroying Earth’s last hope before they are destroyed themselves.

“Dark Winds”: Follows Leaphorn and Chee, two Navajo police officers in the 1970s Southwest that are forced to challenge their own spiritual beliefs when they search for clues in a double murder case.

“The Walking Dead”: Follow a group of survivors, led by former police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home.

“Watcher”: As a serial killer stalks the city, a young actress who just moved to town with her boyfriend notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street.

Despite creating the online TV market with the bow of Sling TV in 2015 — including the first standalone access to ESPN — Sling parent Dish has struggled to retain subscribers on the platform. The service lost almost 250,000 subs through June 30.

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Sling TV, Vizio Link on Football Season Giveaway

Sling TV and Vizio have announced a football experience giveaway.

Throughout the sweepstakes, 10 fans will receive a year-long subscription to Sling Blue + Orange, giving them access to matchups on NFL Network, ESPN and more. Plus, one grand prize winner will receive a year-long Sling subscription and a 75-inch V-Series Vizio TV + M-Series Elevate Sound Bar.

The sweepstakes is open through Sept. 11, and the winner will be announced on Sept. 15 via Sling’s Instagram Story. To learn more and enter, follow Sling on Instagram and like the pinned sweepstakes post.

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Discovery+ Launching on Sling TV and Dish TV

Discovery+ Aug. 8 launched on Sling TV and will launch on Dish TV Aug. 25, Warner Bros. Discovery and Dish Network announced.

Sling and Dish users can access the streaming service for $4.99 per month, or upgrade to a commercial-free subscription for $6.99 per month. Those looking to add Discovery+ as an a la carte streaming service, or add to their Sling Free account, will get a seven-day free trial of the channel.

Titles available at launch include Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed, “Conjuring Kesha,” “90 Day: The Single Life” and more from the “90 Day” universe, “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” and “Unprecedented.”

All Sling users, including users of Sling Free or any Sling subscription, may customize their viewing experience by adding Discovery+ as a premium a la carte streaming service.

“Providing our customers with the best entertainment experience has always been our number one priority at Dish and Sling,” Gary Schanman, group president of Sling TV, said in a statement. “The addition of Discovery+ on our platforms offers iconic and acclaimed content for the a la carte experience our customers love. We offer more than 50 premium a la carte services to enable our users to customize their viewing experience, all with a single account login so they can easily manage their services in one place.”

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“With Discovery+, we are committed to making our world-class content accessible to all of our fans across all platforms, and this partnership with Sling and Dish allows us to deliver on that commitment,” Gabriel Sauerhoff, SVP of digital distribution and commercial partnerships for Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “We always put our dedicated viewers at the forefront of our decision making, and we’ll continue to do so as we expand the reach of our beloved programming, talent and brands.”

More than 70,000 episodes of current and classic shows are available on Discovery+ from Discovery’s portfolio of networks, including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Magnolia Network, along with more than 200 Discovery+ original titles and hundreds of hours of exclusive content. Additionally, the service offers top non-fiction content from A&E, The History Channel and Lifetime, and an expansive offering of nature and environmental programming.