LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Dish Network jumped on board the á la carte television bandwagon Monday, announcing plans to offer a standalone streaming video service that includes about a dozen popular cable channels.
The $20-per-month streaming package, called Sling TV, was announced Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It will be made available independent of a Dish Network subscription.
For the monthly fee, consumers gain live streaming access to a lineup of channels considered standard in most cable and satellite packages, including ABC Family, Cartoon Network, CNN, Disney Channel, the Food Network, HGTV, TBS, TBT, the Travel Channel and Adult Swim.
What makes this standalone service really stand out from other media packages like Hulu and Netflix is its inclusion of sports content with ESPN and ESPN2.
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Slide TV also differs from existing services in that its content streams live as it airs on television, not on demand.
For an additional cost of $5 each, Sling TV subscribers can add on additional packages, like the Kids Extra Package that features Disney Junior and Disney XD, and the News & Info Extra package, which features Bloomberg TV and CNN.
"It's not truly á la carte but it is á la carte-like in that it lets you assemble a channel package that really reflects your interest instead of just buying more channels," said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV LLC.
We're bringing no contract live TV, sports, news, reality TV and much more for only $20 a month! #TakeBackTV #CES2015 pic.twitter.com/8Js70lzrbG
— Sling (@Sling) January 5, 2015Sling TV, which is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2015, can be accessed on Android and iOS devices, on Macintosh and Windows computers, Amazon Fire TV, Google Nexus Player, Roku, Xbox One, and LG and Samsung Smart TVs.
