Sling TV updates its listings — and increases its pricing

You knew it had to happen at some point. Sling TV — the most popular live TV streaming service in the United States and the one that most closely gets you a true a la carte service — is increasing its rates.

It's also bolstering its base listings with more channels and offering more cloud storage. But the price increases come first.

Here's what's up. And it gets a little complicated.

• The two base plans — Sling Orange and Sling Blue — are now $30 a month if you purchase one or the other. That's a $5 increase. (They're still $20 a month for the first month.)
• If you purchase both together, it'll now cost you $45 a month — up from $40 a month.
• The Sports Extra is increasing by $5 a month to $15 if you have both Sling Orange and Sling Blue. But if you only have one of the base plans, Sports Extra still costs $10 a month.
• The "4 Extras" deal now weighs in at $12 a month.
• The "Total TV Deal" is $25 a month if you have Sling Orange and Sling Blue. It's still $20 a month if you have just one of the base plans.

The good news is that you're going to get a little more with those price increases. Again, there are a lot of moving parts here, so we'll break it down.

• The Sling Blue package gets Fox News, MSNBC and HLN. (That's CNN's Headline News.)
• The Sling Blue News Extra gets Fox Business Network.
• Sling is adding the Big Ten Network in time for the 2020-21 college football season.
• FXM and FXX are coming to the Sling Blue Hollywood Extra.
• Nat Geo Wild is coming to the Sling Blue Heartland Extra.

There are some changes to Sling DVR scheme, too.

• You'll now get 10 hours of DVR service, for free.
• An extra $5 a month will get you Cloud DVR Plus, with 50 hours of recording.
• And those recordings can be protected if you're going to go over your 50 hours.

Sling TV remains available on pretty much every device you can think of, including phones, tablets, web browsers, gaming consoles — and, of course, on televisions themselves.

See all Sling TV plans, channels and pricing

SLING TV BOLSTERS LIVE TV WITH FOX NEWS, MSNBC, CNN'S HLN IN BASE SERVICE; LAUNCHES FREE CLOUD DVR, UPDATED PRICING, CHANNEL LINEUPS

- FOX News Channel, MSNBC and CNN's HLN expand news offerings in Sling Blue base service

- All Sling TV subscribers receive 10 hours of Cloud DVR for no added cost across all live linear channels, including offerings from Disney and ESPN

- Updated pricing and channel lineups to base services and Extras

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Dec. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sling TV today expanded its live news offerings with the addition of FOX News, MSNBC and CNN's HLN to Sling Blue base service and launched new "Cloud DVR Free" for all Sling TV subscribers. Sling also introduced updates to pricing and channel lineups across both services.

"Sling customers have been clear: they want more live news and sports, and they want a cloud DVR included at purchase – and we listened," said Warren Schlichting, executive vice president and group president, Sling TV. "Over the past five years, we have proven our dedication to making Sling an exceptional value with unmatched flexibility. These announcements today are further proof points that Sling is the premier live streaming service."

Beyond bolstering its Sling Blue service news offerings, Sling is introducing FOX Business Network (FOX Business) into the Sling Blue News Extra. Sling is also updating its sports offerings, with Big Ten Network (BTN) to launch on Sling TV ahead of the 2020-21 college football season. For movies, Sling will launch FXM and will also add FXX, including the linear feed, to Sling Blue Hollywood Extra. Additionally, Nat Geo Wild is joining Sling Blue Heartland Extra.

These updates follow several recent additions to Sling TV's Orange service, including the introduction of Longhorn Network and ACC Network to the service's Sports Extra, as well as the ability to record Disney and ESPN channels with Sling TV's Cloud DVR.

Cloud DVR Free Features

• Watch anywhere, anytime – Record multiple shows or movies simultaneously from any Sling device and watch from anywhere in the U.S.
• Fast-forward through ads – Save time with the freedom to pause, rewind or fast-forward recorded content, including commercials.
• Save recordings – Users can keep recordings as long as they choose, with no expiration.
• Record favorite channels – Subscribers can now record the vast majority of channels on Sling, including Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, SEC Network, ESPN Bases Loaded, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line, ESPNEWS and ESPNU. Digital networks, such as ESPN3, ACC Network Extra, SEC Network+ and Local Now, are not eligible for recording on Sling.
• Auto-managed storage – Sling will automatically manage the Cloud DVR space to make room for new recordings when capacity is full, by deleting the oldest "watched" recording.

Sling TV's existing Cloud DVR offering is now branded "Cloud DVR Plus" and provides 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage for $5 per month, as an optional service add-on to any Sling TV base subscription. With Cloud DVR Plus, users can choose to protect their recordings, to prevent them from being auto-deleted when storage is full.

Following updated channel lineups and the introduction of Cloud DVR Free, Sling Orange and Sling Blue are now each $30 per month; subscriptions to both Sling Orange and Sling Blue are now $45 per month. Sports Extra is now $15 per month with Sling Orange and Sling Blue; Sports Extra remains $10 as an add-on to Sling Orange or Sling Blue. The 4 Extras Deal is now $12 per month, and the Total TV Deal is now $25 per month with Sling Orange + Sling Blue. Total TV Deal remains $20 per month as an add-on to either Sling Orang or Sling Blue.

"Sling TV delivers unmatched value in streaming, while maintaining the flexibility and choice our customers know and love," said Schlichting. "We have worked hard to maintain stable pricing, even as we have added more content and more features."

For more information on Sling's Cloud DVR offerings, visit sling.com/value/dvr. For more information on pricing updates, visit https://whatson.sling.com/announcements/an-update-on-sling-orange-and-sling-blue/