When it comes to live TV streaming services, Sling TV is one of the best, offering up the channels you want while not breaking the bank. While it isn’t the most simple of streaming services, it is an option that is worth it for anyone looking to balance their budget, or if you don’t need every channel out there. It’s built on two tracks — Sling Orange and Sling Blue. You can get one of the tracks for a paltry sum, or both for a little bit more. (Which is what Sling really encourages you to do.) While there is some overlap between the two, neither of them has the full catalog that its competitors like YouTube TV can offer.
To augment their smaller catalog, it has its own slate of optional add-ons, which Sling TV calls Extras. Each one costs a few dollars more each month, which can quickly add up to the same price range of services like YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, and Fubo, it’s all about your ability to choose to have those add-ons — or not.
So, let’s take a deeper look at the available Sling TV channels, including what you’ll pay and what you’ll have to pay on top of that.
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How much is Sling TV?
Sling is one of the less expensive services available, but that’s because its default plans have fewer channels than the others. As of fall 2024, Sling Orange is $40 per month and Sling Blue cost $45. (You’ll get a discount on your first month.)
Or if you get Sling Orange and Sling Blue, it’ll cost $60 a month. (There’s a first-month discount there, too.) So basically, Sling is betting that you’ll look at that and opt just to go ahead and get both.
Besides channels, another major difference between the tracks is how many streams you can have going at one time. Sling Orange allows for a single stream. Sling Blue allows for three. But even if you get both tracks of service, Sling Orange channels are still limited to a single device. (Hey, we told you upfront this was going to get a little complicated.)
There are separate Sling Extras for the Orange and Blue tracks. They can range in price from $6 to $13 or so. And there’s a larger bundle that packages many extras into a single batch, so that may be worth checking out, too.
Sling Orange and Sling Blue channels
Sling Orange is probably the plan you’ll want to get if you only get one plan, if for no other reason than it’s the one that has more sports channels. If that’s of no interest to you, though, you’ll want to keep reading — or just plan on getting both tracks.
Channels exclusive to Sling Orange (and thus subject to streaming on a single device at a time) are Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN4k, FreeForm, and Motor Trend.
Channels exclusive to Sling Blue (and can be streamed on up to three devices at once) are Bravo, Discovery Channel, E!, FS1, FX, Fox News, HLN, MSNBC, NFL Network, National Geographic, SYFY, TLC, USA, and TruTV.
The following channels are available on either track: A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg, Charge!, CNN, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Comet, Food Network, Fuse, HGTV, History Channel, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Local Now, MGM+ Drive-In, Nick Jr., QVC, Sling scapes, Sling scapes2, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, and Vice.
Sling Extras
If you read the above and thought, “That’s not a whole lot of channels,” well, you’re right. It’s not. But you can augment Sling Orange and Sling Blue with a number of Sling Extras. Prices and channels are subject to change, but we’ll do our best to keep things current:
- Sling Orange Sports Extra ($11 a month): SEC Network, ACC Network, Longhorn Network, ESPNU, SEC Network+, ACCNX, ESPNews, MLB Network, NBA TV, beIN Sports, Tennis Channel, NHL Network, MLB Strike Zone.
- Sling Orange Entertainment Extra ($6): Paramount Network, MTV, Laff, TruTV, feTV, MTV2, CMT, Logo, Revolt, Game Show Network, TV Land.
- Sling Orange Kids Extra ($6): Disney Junior, Disney XD, NickToons, TeenNick, Boomerang, BabyTV.
- Sling Orange News Extra ($6): BBC World News, News Nation, Newsmax, HLN, SCI, News 18, CGTN, Law & Crime.
- Sling Orange Lifestyle Extra ($6): Magnolia Network, Hallmark Channel, VH-1, Cooking Channel, FYI, WE TV, LMN, Hallmark Mystery, Hallmark Family.
- Sling Orange Hollywood Extra ($6): Reelz, H&I, Start TV< Grit, HDNet Movies, Sundance TV, Turner Classic Movies, Bounce.
- Sling Orange Heartland Extra ($6): World Fishing Network, INSP TV, Sportsman Channel, Pursuit, Outdoor Channel, Great American Family, Great American Faith & Living, American Heroes Channel, RFD TV, Destination America, Pixl, Cowboy Channel.
- Sling Blue Sports Extra ($11): NFL RedZone, Big 10 Network, FS2, Golf Channel, NHL Network, NBA TV, beIN Sports, MLB Network, Tennis Channel, MLB Strike Zone.
- Sling Blue Entertainment Extra ($6): Paramount Network, MTV, Laff, feTV, MTV2, CMT, Logo, Revolt, Game Show Network, TV Land.
- Sling Blue Kids Extra ($6): NickToons, TeenNick, Boomerang, BabyTV.
- Sling Blue News Extra ($6): Fox Business, News Nation, CNBC, BBC World News, Law & Crime, Newsmax, SCI, News 18, NDTV 24×7, CGTN.
- Sling Blue Lifestyle Extra ($6): Magnolia Network, Hallmark Channel, VH-1, Cooking Channel, FYI, Oxygen True Crime, WE TV, LMN, Hallmark Mystery, Hallmark Family.
- Sling Blue Hollywood Extra ($6): FXX, H&I, FXM, Reelz, Start TV, Grit, HDNet Movies, Sundance TV, Turner Classic Movies, Bounce.
- Sling Blue Heartland Extra ($6): National Geographic Wild, World Fishing Network, INSP, Pursuit, Sportsman Channel, Outdoor Channel, Great American Family, American Heroes Channel, Great American Faith & Living, Destination America, RFD TV, Pixl, Cowboy Channel.
There are a couple of other bundles available. Total TV Deal gets you all seven Extras on a given track for $21 a month. And 4 Extras Deal gets you Kids, News, Comedy, and Lifestyle for $13 per month.
Sling TV and DVR
Every Sling subscription comes with 50 hours of free recording, also known as DVR. (DVR stands for digital video record — a throwback to the time when we all had cable boxes with hard drives inside to record shows.
You can get another 150 hours of cloud-based storage for an extra $5 a month with a DVR Plus subscription.
Sling Premiums
In addition to all those optional Extras, Sling TV has a number of premium subscriptions available. Here’s the full list as of early 2024, with monthly pricing.
- Paramount+ with Showtime: $10
- STARZ: $11
- MGM+: $5
- AMC+: $9
- Discovery+: $5
- Discovery+ (ad-free): $9
- Acorn: $8
- AllBLK: $6
- BET+: $11
- Carnegie Hall+: $8
- CineFest: $5
- Cocina On: $3
- Comedy Dynamics: $5
- CONtv: $5
- Curiosity Stream: $5
- Docurama: $5
- DOGTV: $5
- Dove Channel: $5
- DOX: $3
- FlixLatino: $4
- Gallery: $5
- Grokker: $7
- Hallmark Movies Now: $8
- Here TV: $8
- Hopster: $5
- IFC Films Unlimited: $6
- Kartoon Channel!: $4
- Magnolia Selects: $5
- Monsters & Nightmares: $3
- Outside TV Features: $5
- ScreamFlix: $3
- Shudder: $7
- Sundance Now: $7
- Tastemade+: $3
- True Royalty TV: $6
- UP Faith & Family: $5
- ViX Premium: $7
- Warriors & Gangsters: $3