Sling Television Brings Live Major Network TV Back to Cable Cutters!
Several months ago, I had finally had enough! Cable TV just kept getting more expensive while quality continued to decline and customer service was basically nonexistent, so we pulled the cable plug. However, we still have TV.
My husband reconnected an old fashioned antenna. Remember the rabbit ears? Yes, we have those again, but they are hidden behind a plant on top of our TV cabinet. This allows us to watch local TV stations, local news and local weather.
We also purchased a Roku from Amazon.com and hooked it up. Through the Roku, we are able to view hundreds of movies and TV programs that are streamed programming, but not live TV. It is good, but not exactly perfect.
However, just this week I received an email introducing Sling Television and our major network TV viewing is live again!
Sling.com
With Sling Television we can now have live major network TV again! The basic Sling service cost only $20/month and we could not be happier. I now have CNN, A&E, AMC, TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network on live TV. The basic service also includes ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, and more.
There are additional packages available as well for only $5/month. We won't need those, but it is definitely worth mentioning that Sling has upgrades to their basic service available.
Costs Cut by Cutting the Cable Cord
Here is a line up of the services we now have on TV. You can see for yourself how we have substantially cut our monthly costs.
- Sling.com ~ Live TV Basic Service includes ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, A&E, TNT, TBS, CNN, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, History Channel (Device Required: Amazon Fire, Roku, iOS, Android, Mac, or PC) ~ Cost: $20.00/month
- Amazon Prime ~ Prime Instant Video (thousands of movies & TV shows), Prime Music, Prime Photos, Kindle Library, plus Free 2 day shipping on Amazon orders all included with Amazon Prime. ~ Cost: $99.00/year
- Netflix ~ Movies & TV ~ Cost: $8.99/month
Thank you for the review, Cynthia. We've been looking for an inexpensive TV alternative. Right now, we don't have cable. Just regular antenna TV.
ReplyDeleteWe did that for a while too Coletta. I simply hate having to pay so much for tv, which I rarely watch, but this seems like a good compromise for us. I do know when cutting basic monthly costs in a home, that cable bill seems like the best place to start the elimination. I do laugh at us myself for having those rabbit ears again. I have read that there are other alternatives to the rabbit ears, but haven't tried any of the other antennas
DeleteSounds good. I know that cable TV is very expensive - and keeps going up. My problem is the main things I watch on TV 6 months of the year is 'baseball' and that's the main reason I keep cable. Good to know there is an inexpensive alternative for people who just want local programming and movies. Glad you found it works for you.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of sports fans in our home too Elf. They have kept their cable for the same reason, but Sling has ESPN and ESPN2 as part of their basic package. They also have an upgrade for $5/mt that is a Sports Extra Package. Since I am not a huge sports fan, I'm not sure if that would cover your needs, but it might be worth looking into: https://www.sling.com/package
Deletewill have to check if they have Sling tv in Ireland as I think we're moving here.
ReplyDeleteReally? Wow!!! Ireland is a beautiful country. You will have to keep us posted about your move as well as you tv setup :)
DeleteI am a member of Amazon Prime and Netflix. I still have not cut the "cable" as I am addicted to HBO and Showtime original programing. I am also too lazy to do the research on how I can end my relationship with my provider. Thank you for this very informative article about programing available with Sling. Will check it out.
ReplyDeleteSling doesn't offer HBO or Showtime yet, but now that they have started, I am hopeful. I, myself, would love to see A&E added to the line up.
DeleteSounds like a really great deal, especially in areas where there isn't any signals. I like old movies and cooking programs, while my husband loves This Old House.
ReplyDeleteWe have only had it for a few days Favored1, but we have been extremely pleased with it. It is nice to have live tv back, but especially nice that we aren't paying over $100 a month for it! That cable bill was completely ridiculous. Between Netflix and Amazon Prime we see plenty of movies.
DeleteI have been looking for a way to ditch cable tv that works for our family (plus we're in Canada so we have fewer options than our US neighbors) - It's so ridiculous what cable tv costs here! Our problem is that we have 6 people in the house and pretty much everyone watches TV on their own tv either in their room or in another room in the house - so how to get something affordable that offers Live TV for every TV has been my challenge - as soon as I find a way to simply solve this problem I'm switching! - I don't want a satellite dish (actually we have one connected to our house, and don't use it anymore) - I can't wait to stop paying these ridiculous cable fees! If it were just my husband and I, I could have solved this long ago, it's when you have a lot of people who watch different shows in different rooms, that's the issue
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to that problem Barbara! We don't have 6 people in the house, but even with 3, everyone has a "favorite" channel. The 3 of us have managed to adapt to the change, but I would imagine that would be much harder to do with more people in the house. I have hated that my Dad couldn't watch his football when he visited with us, especially during the holidays.
DeleteI have only recently gotten cable again... a year and a half ago. And I hate it already. I got the package to meet my internet needs..but WOW I hate the increasing costs of cable tv. I didn't have a contract/special deal that would increase my bill over time, but it is still increasing over time. And scheduled to increase again in Dec 2015. I have decided to get rid of the cable tv but wasn't sure if I was just going to go back to straight tv with an antenna (i do love my HGTV). I am SO excited to read this article. I am definitely going to check out Sling. I'd love to have rid of cable tv.
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of cable is definitely a great way to decrease your monthly payments. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of getting rid of my tv though. The antenna was not quite enough programming and sometimes I really missed live national and world news. Sling is the perfect solution for me since I already had a Roku for my Amazon and Netflix movies.
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