You might call me a “cable cutter.” I’ve never actually owned cable in my adult life, but I’ve managed to happily exist without it. With a monthly subscription to both Hulu Plus and Netflix, I’m pretty much set for content.

There are a few downsides, though. For example, I can’t watch certain shows live. Long after everyone else knows what happens in The Walking Dead, I’m still waiting for the season to show up on Netflix.

Sling TV

Sling TV makes watching cable shows in real time possible without having to purchase a full  subscription. The company is  now allowing anyone in the U.S. to join up for $20 per month without needing an invitation. Plus, new channels, like AMC, BBC America, and IFC, are going to be included in the core package.

Sling TV will provide live television shows from such networks as ESPN, TNT, Food Network, CNN, Cartoon Network, and more for $20 per month. Plus, for an additional $5 per month each, subscribers can add on packages like “Sports Extra,” “Kids Extra,” and “News & Info Extra.”

Thanks to a newly penned deal for over-the-top (OTT) programing and multi-streaming rights for live and video on-demand (VOD) content, AMC Network’s portfolio will be included with the core package over the coming weeks, including AMC, BBC America, BBC World News, IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv.

You may recall, even though Sling TV is supported on Android, iOS, and Roku (and soon Amazon Fire TV), it is not AirPlay compatible and not all of the ESPN content is available on all devices.

In its current state, Sling TV may not be the cable cutters’ dreams come true. It isn’t exactly the à la carte channel choice offering we have always hoped for.

However, it certainly shows that T.V. viewers are tired of the status quo. This could be the start of something much better for consumers in the future.

You can sign up today for a free, seven-day trial from the company’s website. You can cancel at any time, but if you like what you see, you can continue your subscription for $20 per month, plus $5 for any Extras packages you want to add.

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13 replies on “Sling TV is now available to all, AMC added to core package”

  1. Signed up last week and like the service on our new Roku TV (which gets all kinds of stuff for free already). This, together with a rooftop antenna and Amazon Prime Video poises us to cut the cable cord without regret.

  2. Not perfect, but looking promising. Gonna wait and see about how good the service works after a boatload of subscribers tune in at the same time, though if they were to throw Comedy Central in with that I might be more inclined to be $20 poorer a month.

    1. That’s similar to my type of thinking; I want to be able to pick and choose my channels. Honestly, I would have no problem paying $4 per channel per month, or something like that, since it would save me a lot of hassle when compared to scrolling through the satellite guide of hundreds of pay-per-view and other channels that I don’t care about.

      My channels:
      ABC
      ABC Spark
      CBC
      City
      Fox
      NBC

      I would be fine with just those channels available to me, but I’m in Canada and online options are unlikely for NBC and Fox, considering the fact that they block Canadians from viewing their episodes/clips online through their websites.

      1. Do you not get FREE over the air channels in Canada? 3 of your 5 are already free here in the US. Just go buy a cheap antenna.

        1. Which channels are those? I know that CHEX is available in my area over the air, and CHEX runs the CBC shows during the evenings. As for ABC, Fox and NBC, I am absolutely sure that they would not be available over the air. ABC Spark, on the other hand, might be. How would I find out? Also, I don’t live in a city, so an antenna might not be great in my rural area 40 minutes away from the nearest city. We used to have an antenna, but we only got CHEX, TVO, CTV and Global — all of which had poor quality with static noise most of the time.

          1. Well the only sure fire way I know would be to test. Over-the-air signals travel pretty far, but it all depends on where you live and the topography. You can get a HD antenna for $20. Here in the US, most if not all major cities and even minor cities have CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX. If you’re not close to the border and a US city, I guess you would have an issue.

          2. I’m in central Ontario, so the nearest US border would be 6-8 hours away. Also, the topography is not good where I live — plenty of rock cuts and thick forests. I doubt that it would be worth purchasing an HD antenna to test, but I might do so anyway.

          3. People usually forget that you can get a decent amount of TV over the air for FREE.

          5. That looks useful, but Toronto is the nearest city to me from that list, and it’s 3 hours South. Considering that we used to get TVO on analog antenna, though, indicates that we might also be able to get those other channels that are hosted in Toronto. We won’t be able to get any of those Buffalo channels, though, since we’re those 3 hours further away than Toronto is.

  4. With this announcement, and last week’s news of Shout Factory TV, I may finally get a Roku. (Chromecast is fine, but Roku has a dedicated remote control, and now this new content. Oh, and PBS, too.)

    1. I’m thinking the same. Roku not only has the main apps and channels plus Sling TV, but it also works well with SiliconDust OTA tuners. One device for all media sounds good.

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