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

[Mochuf]

And spammy.

Hmm, if only there was someone on this thread that could put a stop to spam?

 

[Bobby]

Hmm, if only there was someone on this thread that could put a stop to spam?

There is an easy way, the ignore button....

 

[meStevo]

If I have to start ignoring people to enjoy reading a forum I just stop visiting that forum.

 

[Bobby]

If I have to start ignoring people to enjoy reading a forum I just stop visiting that forum.

Why would you allow a single individual to stop you from visiting a forum? There is too much good information here to allow that individual to make you go away. Yes, you can continue to read mindless raving, but, isn't it simpler to just put that raver on ignore???

 

[MikeD-C05]

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.

Obviously, not trying hard enough. GOODBYE and welcome to IGNORE..

 

[MikeD-C05]

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.

It was stated in several articles I read about SLING Tv on the web ,that they don't want it to get more than 5million subs . They don't want SLING Tv to canniablize the core DISH sat service. Also if it does grow faster than 5million ,ESPN can drop out of the service agreement or I imagine ask for more MONEY for continued carriage. Either way it means either a lack of the sports channels that are supposed to attract the millennials to the service or a price hike to compensate ESPN to keep them on. Which doesn't bode well for the long term sustainability for the service with this ESPN caveat as well as the one stream at a time restriction. Can they change it by adding more streams in the future? That remains to be seen. I say that without some changes to all these restrictions ,the online service will not work in it's present incarnation .

 

[dare2be]

Let the ESPN popularity draw over 5 million subscribers, get ESPN dropped from the package, and replace it with a dozen other channels, then I'll subscribe to it.

 

[Stargazer]

Or ESPN/ABC/DISNEY could see it as a loss of potential subs if they choose to loose the service and Sling ends up getting a deal with a different company. We have seen Dish drop channels in the middle of a contract such as the VoOm channels so what's not to say that Sling won't do the same thing? It might hurt their contract deal with Dish though if they choose to do that.

 

[Lue]

Live interactive Interview with the Big Man at Sling TV on how they will Take Back TV., check out that family pack, I likey.
"Many of us have been waiting, hoping and even lusting after Sling TV before we'd ever heard of it: an Internet TV service that gives you the channels you love, on any screen, anywhere, without a subscription to traditional cable or satellite TV service," Engadget

"None of the major TV networks (CBS, ABC, Fox, etc.) (is) included, but if you add Sling TV to an over-the-air antenna and/or subscriptions to Hulu Plus or CBS All Access, you're pretty close to a basic cable package for far less money," CNet section editor David Katzmaier wrote.

http://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/2sax90/ama_with_sling_tv_ceo_roger_lynch_3_pm_est/

 

[king3pj]

It was stated in several articles I read about SLING Tv on the web ,that they don't want it to get more than 5million subs . They don't want SLING Tv to canniablize the core DISH sat service. Also if it does grow faster than 5million ,ESPN can drop out of the service agreement or I imagine ask for more MONEY for continued carriage. Either way it means either a lack of the sports channels that are supposed to attract the millennials to the service or a price hike to compensate ESPN to keep them on. Which doesn't bode well for the long term sustainability for the service with this ESPN caveat as well as the one stream at a time restriction. Can they change it by adding more streams in the future? That remains to be seen. I say that without some changes to all these restrictions ,the online service will not work in it's present incarnation .

Again, the 5 million number was a rumor from an unnamed source. Even in the article that mentioned that number it said they would have to stop advertising the service at that point. They did not say the networks would be allowed to break their contracts at that point. You keep stating this stuff as fact even though you couldn't possibly know those details unless you had seen the contracts for yourself.

Remember that channels get paid per subscriber. If Dish gets more cord cutters to suddenly subscribe to ESPN through this service ESPN gets more money.

 

[ChadT41]

Or ESPN/ABC/DISNEY could see it as a loss of potential subs if they choose to loose the service and Sling ends up getting a deal with a different company. We have seen Dish drop channels in the middle of a contract such as the VoOm channels so what's not to say that Sling won't do the same thing? It might hurt their contract deal with Dish though if they choose to do that.

Dish dropped VOOM because they they claimed VOOM did not supply the contractually obligated new shows. To many reruns or playbacks of other shows. According to Ergen, that was his only problem with it really. That and it was hd before hd was around. When MPeg4 came about, the old VOOM channels started disappearing.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Let the ESPN popularity draw over 5 million subscribers, get ESPN dropped from the package, and replace it with a dozen other channels, then I'll subscribe to it.

I would love that. To me this service should be a NON Sports online service that many of us have been wishing that DISH would do ,but in HD. It would definitely get my money if they did that.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Again, the 5 million number was a rumor from an unnamed source. Even in the article that mentioned that number it said they would have to stop advertising the service at that point. They did not say the networks would be allowed to break their contracts at that point. You keep stating this stuff as fact even though you couldn't possibly know those details unless you had seen the contracts for yourself.

Remember that channels get paid per subscriber. If Dish gets more cord cutters to suddenly subscribe to ESPN through this service ESPN gets more money.

Ok, you are free to believe what you want and so am I. So will just agree to disagree.

 

[ssmaniac]

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.

I think this can work for families-you adapt. My family of five downgraded our Dish subscription to welcome pack because we weren't using more than half of the channels. We love dvr functionality, especially skipping through commercials. I'm paying under $30/month, plus Netflix.
The trade-off is I don't have espn, and kids lost Disney/Nick. However, kids spend more time on Netflix than they do watching anything live. Wife and I spend most time watching dvr'd recordings. My point is rarely are we in need of separate live feeds. If I want to watch live feed on Sling TV, kids can watch netflix on their tablets, or watch BD, or go play Minecraft (or go outside!). If wife misses House Hunters because I'm watching MNF, she can watch it in next few days in the 3 day window. Biggest loss would be dvr. I think user interface, ability to skip commercials may have big impact on popularity.

 

[Scherrman]

I would love that. To me this service should be a NON Sports online service that many of us have been wishing that DISH would do ,but in HD. It would definitely get my money if they did that.

I couldn't disagree more on this. You can already watch the majority of non sports content online now. Probably the biggest reason for people to not cut the cord is because of sports. I know that's my biggest reason. So, if there was a nice streaming service that offered some sports then it gains massive popularity. This is why I feel SlingTV could be huge. Without ESPN it just becomes the same basic online stuff.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I find it hard to believe that so many people that have satellite tv with multiple additional receivers and that pay the fees associated with them , would suddenly just go to one stream at a time SLING Tv. In my house we can watch Netflix on three different devices in my house at the same time and that isn't counting my parents across town ,who can watch my account at the same time too. IF most people could make it with one receiver with DISH , then there bills would stay pretty low and there would be really no need for SLING Tv anyway. I know in my house we pay over $36.00 alone in miscellaneous joeys ,super joey, dvr fees. Obviously everyone's own situation is different ,but people with families that have multiple tastes are not going to agree to all watch the same stream at the same time.

When I was a kid we had a black and white tv for the kids ,who fought over what show to watch and my Dad who owned the color tv in the living room. He and my mother watched what ever HE wanted to watch. That was the 60s and 70's in my house. Now my son ,who is 14 ,watches tv on his joey and my wife watches her shows on the super joey in the bedroom and I watch in the computer room what I want to watch. We rarely watch together except the occasional movie in the living room.

The SLING Tv service is geared towards young millennial adults, who don't have pay tv and don't ever want to sub to pay tv. It wasn't geared towards retirees or families . The video with Joe Clayton from CES says this about the untapped 35 million young millennials that they want to attract, as the future of pay tv. Without these people , the current pay tv model will literally die out. Now as usual your personal situations might vary from this , but it doesn't change the original intention behind the launch of this SLING Tv service.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I think this can work for families-you adapt. My family of five downgraded our Dish subscription to welcome pack because we weren't using more than half of the channels. We love dvr functionality, especially skipping through commercials. I'm paying under $30/month, plus Netflix.
The trade-off is I don't have espn, and kids lost Disney/Nick. However, kids spend more time on Netflix than they do watching anything live. Wife and I spend most time watching dvr'd recordings. My point is rarely are we in need of separate live feeds. If I want to watch live feed on Sling TV, kids can watch netflix on their tablets, or watch BD, or go play Minecraft (or go outside!). If wife misses House Hunters because I'm watching MNF, she can watch it in next few days in the 3 day window. Biggest loss would be dvr. I think user interface, ability to skip commercials may have big impact on popularity.

So the kids are watching mostly Netflix and I imagine multiple streams at the same time? They can't all agree on the same show right?

 

[ssmaniac]

So the kids are watching mostly Netflix and I imagine multiple streams at the same time? They can't all agree on the same show right?

With Netflix, that is an option, correct. My two girls are close in age and can compromise most of the time. My older son is content watching youtube if necessary. If we did not have Netflix as a "backup" option, I agree that it would cause some dismay having one TV stream, but this is a first-world problem I think my family could adapt to. My point again is that there are other streaming options even if Sling TV only enables one stream at a time for live tv.

Obviously, everyone would agree that multiple streams at the same cost would be preferable. With one stream, YMMV...

 

[Mochuf]

There is an easy way, the ignore button....

Hey, Scott of all people mentioned it. And I just posted a friendly reminder that he, of all people, could put an end to it.

 

[Mochuf]

I couldn't disagree more on this. You can already watch the majority of non sports content online now. Probably the biggest reason for people to not cut the cord is because of sports. I know that's my biggest reason. So, if there was a nice streaming service that offered some sports then it gains massive popularity. This is why I feel SlingTV could be huge. Without ESPN it just becomes the same basic online stuff.

For years my thought has been that pay-tv is safe and secure until ESPN and HBO decide to "cut the cord" themselves.

HBO really started this process when it allowed cablecos to bundle it with internet/low tier tv packages at not much more than the internet service itself. ESPN is now part of the new SlingTV. This year looks like the year things get very interesting.