I tried Sling TV at CES 2015, and now I'm cancelling cable

[MikeD-C05]

One stream at a time means only single young adults will be interested in this service. IF they made it like Netflix with more than one stream available at a time, then I would say it could work for older adults that are married or retired couples etc. But from what I keep reading they only want is it 5million subs period to take the service . If more people subscribe than that , then ESPN can drop out of the contract and there goes their hook to attract young single adults all over again. So I don't see how this will work in its present form, before they will need to change the way they repackage it to sustain it for the long run.

 

[Scherrman]

Am I the only one who thinks that Lue is behind some kind of marketing scheme to promote streaming services? He even keeps throwing out the catch phrase "Take back TV" every chance he gets. I get that some people have a major interest in this but it seems a little more personal to him.

 

[nelson61]

Engadget gave it both best Software/App and Best Home Theater Product for the Show.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/08/best-of-ces-2015-winners/

 

[GaryPen]

Am I the only one who thinks that Lue is behind some kind of marketing scheme to promote streaming services? He even keeps throwing out the catch phrase "Take back TV" every chance he gets. I get that some people have a major interest in this but it seems a little more personal to him.

My guess is he's a young, new Dish employee, still excited by his job, and feeling great loyalty and love for his employer.

Or, just one of those emotionally unstable folks with an unhealthy, zealous devotion to a brand or company. (Good thing we don't have any of those on the Dish forums at SG!)

 

[king3pj]

No way Charlie is going to lay down and let the other internet streaming providers take market share, Sling TV will be the dominate player, and to accomplish that it will be "all hands on deck", Looking for Sling TV, alone, to capture 50 million subs in two years. Take Back TV!

He's not going to have much choice. There are going to be lots of options for these types of services in the future. Since it doesn't require, specific hardware, installation, or infrastructure to each customer's home almost anyone can offer something like this. People here didn't pay as much attention to Sony's offering because it isn't a company everyone here follows but they actually announced their service well before Dish did.

I think the competition will be much stiffer for this type of service. Profit margins will also be lower as they try to undercut each other. No contracts or proprietary hardware means customers can switch between these providers every month if they want. I think your 50 million number is totally ridiculous. Why are all these people who've never even subscribed to Dish before going to specifically want Dish's version of this? Assuming each service works and is available on a large variety of devices many people will just subscribe to the cheapest service. Others will decide based on available channels. We may see providers pay more for exclusive streaming rights of various channels.

One stream at a time means only single young adults will be interested in this service. IF they made it like Netflix with more than one stream available at a time, then I would say it could work for older adults that are married or retired couples etc. But from what I keep reading they only want is it 5million subs period to take the service . If more people subscribe than that , then ESPN can drop out of the contract and there goes their hook to attract young single adults all over again. So I don't see how this will work in its present form, before they will need to change the way they repackage it to sustain it for the long run.

You keep saying this even though people point out that it will work just fine for their family every time you do. What you should be saying is that it won't work for your family. Not that it won't work for anyone but single young adults.

I think you misunderstood the 5 million number too. If I remember correctly this was a rumor from an unnamed source. Not only that but the unnamed source said that they had to stop advertising the service after 5 million subscribers, not that the networks could break their contracts at that point.

 

[meStevo]

One stream at a time means only single young adults will be interested in this service. IF they made it like Netflix with more than one stream available at a time, then I would say it could work for older adults that are married or retired couples etc. But from what I keep reading they only want is it 5million subs period to take the service . If more people subscribe than that , then ESPN can drop out of the contract and there goes their hook to attract young single adults all over again. So I don't see how this will work in its present form, before they will need to change the way they repackage it to sustain it for the long run.

You're better off not making statements that don't exclusively apply to you. My family of 4 is very interested in this service. You're trying too hard.

 

[JM42]

One stream at a time means only single young adults will be interested in this service. IF they made it like Netflix with more than one stream available at a time, then I would say it could work for older adults that are married or retired couples etc. But from what I keep reading they only want is it 5million subs period to take the service . If more people subscribe than that , then ESPN can drop out of the contract and there goes their hook to attract young single adults all over again. So I don't see how this will work in its present form, before they will need to change the way they repackage it to sustain it for the long run.

If they hit 5 million subs they have a hit on then hands and nudging into top ten provider territory.

Uverse after nine years only has something like 6-7 million subs. Granted they are regional.

Too much is being made of the initial offering. None of this is set in stone. They are keeping it simple out of the gate. There will be takers. They can adjust the streaming issues and other parts of the recipe as they go.

 

[GaryPen]

IP addresses can easily be adopted using VPN.

There is a way to share an IP address, its called a VPN.

As Dangue pointed out, the IP address idea is a moot point, as this is supposed to work anywhere, on any device. As such, barring some sort of physical ID device such as a smartcard, fingerprint scanner, etc, it'll have to be one stream at a time, if they want to completely prevent stacking. This makes the service a no-go for most viewers, and leaves only those who only require a single concurrent login. (Not just "millennials", but single people, as well.) This is apparently fine for Dish.

The single stream, and more importantly the lack of commercial-skipping, make it a no-go for me, as there are two people in my household, and we both don't want to watch commercials.

For each hour of programming, there are roughly 20 minutes of commercials. The financial savings of SlingTV do not outweigh the time savings of traditional carriage with a DVR.

 

[GaryPen]

Engadget gave it both best Software/App and Best Home Theater Product for the Show.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/08/best-of-ces-2015-winners/

And, they gave the Occulus Rift the "Best of the Best" award for CES 2014. So, they've got that going for them.

 

[Lue]

Take Back TV! Take a look at the link provided (I know its 2009 pricing) and pick your favorite channels (remember we just watch 20 or fewer channels) factor in that all major networks are FREE via antenna, vast, vast, vast content can be had thru the internet often for Free. Double the prices for the carriers profit. What number do you come up with? My monthly bill should be $14.80. TAKE BACK TV!
http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/3-9-2010_2-23-31_pm.jpg

 

[Scherrman]

Take Back TV! Take a look at the link provided (I know its 2009 pricing) and pick your favorite channels (remember we just watch 20 or fewer channels) factor in that all major networks are FREE via antenna, vast, vast, vast content can be had thru the internet often for Free. Double the prices for the carriers profit. What number do you come up with? My monthly bill should be $14.80. TAKE BACK TV!
http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/3-9-2010_2-23-31_pm.jpg

If anything you're very persistent and optimistic.

 

[Stargazer]

No way Charlie is going to lay down and let the other internet streaming providers take market share, Sling TV will be the dominate player, and to accomplish that it will be "all hands on deck", Looking for Sling TV, alone, to capture 50 million subs in two years. Take Back TV!

It was mentioned earlier in this thread that there was a limit of around 5 million subs before Dish had to quit advertising/promoting the service or something to that nature which means the companies that own the channels do not want this type of service undercutting their main core satellite/cable business. Each new IPTV provider may have a similar limit or they may have made agreements with companies without such restrictions. For each company out there though that is 5 million allowed at least which still puts it to tens of millions allowed but far short of the total market.

I look for a company someday to put together a good assortment of channels (some they create, some that are real cheap and available today) for little money and all the DVR offerings through an IPTV service, Perhaps we can see this as already offered through a device such as Roku.

 

[Lue]

A long distance phone call cost .30 cents a few short years ago, today it cost .017 cents, the fat was cut from the tele. market Television cost upwards of 100 bucks a month today, when the fat (giant cable profits, satellite launch cost, service people, call centers, etc. etc.) gets cut, and it will, cost should plummet. Take Back TV! Cut the darn fat.

 

[Lue]

It was mentioned earlier in this thread that there was a limit of around 5 million subs before Dish had to quit advertising/promoting the service or something to that nature which means the companies that own the channels do not want this type of service undercutting their main core satellite/cable business. Each new IPTV provider may have a similar limit or they may have made agreements with companies without such restrictions. For each company out there though that is 5 million allowed at least which still puts it to tens of millions allowed but far short of the total market.

I look for a company someday to put together a good assortment of channels (some they create, some that are real cheap and available today) for little money and all the DVR offerings through an IPTV service, Perhaps we can see this as already offered through a device such as Roku.

It will happen, market demands will ensure it. The Broadband TV market is exploding, new entrants everyday it seems.
Among them is Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC), which bolstered its TV and video business in 2013 with the acquisition of Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV solution: The Swedish giant says it will offer a "behind-closed-doors showcase" at CES of MediaFirst, the new pay-TV platform it plans to launch in the second quarter of 2015
http://www.lightreading.com/video/m...-preview-5-tv-and-tech-trends-/d/d-id/712806?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

If anything you're very persistent and optimistic.

And spammy.

 

[dare2be]

A long distance phone call cost .30 cents a few short years ago, today it cost .017 cents, the fat was cut from the tele. market Television cost upwards of 100 bucks a month today, when the fat (giant cable profits, satellite launch cost, service people, call centers, etc. etc.) gets cut, and it will, cost should plummet. Take Back TV! Cut the darn fat.

Such a bad, bad comparison. The "fat" in television is the content rights. Those won't go away with a change in delivery.

 

[Lue]

Such a bad, bad comparison. The "fat" in television is the content rights. Those won't go away with a change in delivery.

Who are the main consortium(s) that inflates the content rights cost? Cut The Fat, Take Back TV, Go Sling TV.

 

[StevenD]

I sure Dish is paying Scott for these posts!

 

[king3pj]

Who are the main consortium(s) that inflates the content rights cost? Cut The Fat, Take Back TV, Go Sling TV.

I'm not sure what you're trying to do with the catch phrases you keep putting at the end of every post. I feel like I'm reading some crazy twitter feed full of hashtags. This isn't Twitter or Facebook. No matter how many times you say something here you can't make it start trending. #stopit

 

[Lue]

Are these the content rights price inflators you are referring to? This is what floored the world when Sling TV included ESPN in the first mini/skinny bundle, and for 20 bucks, man, you got to hand it to Sling TV for their effort to even try to buck the trend and Take Back TV.
http://www.si.com/more-sports/2014/12/17/future-cable-sports-tv
http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/sports-fans-to-spend-more-money-to-watch-favorite-teams-1200577215/