Sling TV announced a major update to its streaming TV plans, including the addition of new channels, improved features and higher prices.
According to a post on the company’s site, the streaming service is adding FOX News, MSNBC and CNN’s HLN to Sling’s Blue package. In addition, some of the service’s add-ons are being upgraded as well, with the Big Ten Network (BTN) added to the sports offerings. FXM and FXX are being added to Blue’s Hollywood Extra, and the Nat Geo Wild channel is coming to Blue’s Heartland Extra package.
The company is also improving their DVR service, finally including at least some DVR capability for free. The current DVR add-on is being rebranded as “Cloud DVR Plus,” and will still offer 50 hours of recording, along with the ability to save recordings indefinitely so they aren’t deleted when the available space is used up.
As part of the update, Sling is also raising prices by $5 a month. The Orange and Blue plans are both $30 a month, with the bundle coming in at $45. The company points out this is the first time it has raised prices on the Blue package since its launch, and the first price raise on the Orange package since June of last year.
While it’s certainly good to see one of the oldest streaming services continue to evolve, bolster programming and add features, it would be nice to see more than 50 hours of DVR. Hulu currently includes 50 hours free, while offering up to 200 hours for an extra cost; YouTube TV offers unlimited DVR; and fuboTV includes 30 hours, with 500 hours available as an upgrade. With that kind of competition, 50 hours seems positively anemic, especially for an extra fee.