Dish Network announces Virtual Cable

[dirk digler]

Sounds promising and will be interesting to see if other companies follow suit.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/05/medi...ble/index.html
Is the future of cable a "personal subscription service" with a small bundle of television and online video channels delivered to phones, tablets and Internet-connected TV sets?

Well, it's one potential future, as portrayed by the Dish Network in a first-of-its-kind "virtual cable" announcement on Monday.

Dish, a pioneer in satellite TV, is preparing to launch Sling TV, a bundle of channels -- including ESPN and CNN -- that will be delivered via the Internet to subscribers. Sling's "core package" will cost just $20 per month, far less than most cable packages, mainly because it includes a small number of channels.

For the small but growing number of cord-cutters in the United States, Sling TV might be a reason to reconnect -- particularly because it's a low-cost way to receive ESPN. It may also pave the way for changes to the cable bundles that about 100 million households currently pay for.
But for the time being, the service is experimental; Dish CEO Joseph Clayton calls it "a viable alternative for live television to the millennial audience."

Dish announced the new offering during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company declined to say when exactly it'll launch, other than "first quarter of 2015."

Sling TV is groundbreaking for a couple of reasons. One, it's entirely in the cloud; it requires no set-top-box or satellite dish (and annoying wait for the cable guy). It is bring-your-own-broadband.

Two, it is a per-person subscription, like Spotify, not a per-household subscription like traditional cable, satellite and broadband.

Three, it defies the television industry norm of bundling all of a company's channels together. For example, and probably most importantly for potential subscribers, Sling TV will include ESPN and ESPN2, but not ESPN's ancillary channels.

ESPN's parent, The Walt Disney Company, struck an Internet distribution deal with Dish (DISH) last spring.

Sling TV -- which has no relation to another product owned by Dish, the Slingbox -- will also carry ten other channels at launch: Disney's ABC Family and Disney Channel; Scripps Networks' Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel; and Time Warner's TNT, TBS, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and CNN.
(Time Warner is the parent of this web site.)

The typical channel bundle sold by Dish and its competitors includes hundreds of channels. Through Sling TV, additional channels will be available via $5 per month "add-on packs." One of the packs will include CNN's sibling HLN, Bloomberg TV, Cooking Channel, and DIY.

Absent from Monday's announcement are any channels owned by Viacom, like MTV; 21st Century Fox, like FX; Comcast, like Bravo; and any broadcast networks, like CBS and NBC.

But the bundle will include a selection of web series from Maker Studios, the online video maker that Disney acquired last year.

Sling TV said it expected to "expand its core package, video-on-demand content, online video and add-on packs throughout 2015."

Dish's introduction of Sling will be closely watched within the media industry, since several forms of "virtual cable" are being explored by various companies.

Making the cable bundle more convenient and appealing to young people -- one of Dish's main aims -- may help the mature industry win new subscribers, but it may also hurt smaller cable channels that currently survive on the backs of bigger siblings.

In a press release, Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch depicted the service as a natural step in the Netflixification of television.

"Live television, including ESPN, for $20 per month with no commitment or contract, is a game changer," he asserted.

"The arrival of Sling TV lets consumers, who've embraced services like Netflix and Hulu, take more control of their video entertainment experience."

[Deberg_1990]

No El-Rey network?


No dice for me

[lawrenceRaider]

Received an invite to give it a go yesterday. Picture quality over my Fire TV is great.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by Donger

Same here. As a collective, we watch maybe 10 channels on Dish. I'm pretty close to cutting it out altogether, but just haven't figured out a way to still get what we want to watch.

Get a VPN and download anything you want.
www.kickass.to

[ragedogg69]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

Received an invite to give it a go yesterday. Picture quality over my Fire TV is great.

what was the sign up process? I got the same offer but it told me to call in.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by ragedogg69

what was the sign up process? I got the same offer but it told me to call in.

Call in, verify your information, give them payment info, and they email you a link to set up your password and another email with links to the APK's. I sideloaded onto FireTV and it works great. FireTV will get it's own app when the service goes live.

[ragedogg69]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

give them payment info

oh **** that.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

No El-Rey network?


No dice for me

El Ray showed up today.

[KC2004]

Originally Posted by Lzen

That channel is in a package for an additional $50.

Seriously, this is intriguing. Although no ESPNU, which means not being able to see many KU basketball games.

I got it last night and love it. The have a $5 add on package for sports that adds: •
• Sports Extra – Networks include: SEC Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded, Univision Deportes, Universal Sports, and beIN Sports

[Shag]

Originally Posted by KC2004

I got it last night and love it. The have a $5 add on package for sports that adds: •
• Sports Extra – Networks include: SEC Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded, Univision Deportes, Universal Sports, and beIN Sports

If they could add Fox Sports, I'd be all over this - need this to watch Wild hockey. NFL Network would be good, too.

Would have to figure out how to get Sunday Ticket to watch the Chiefs, and how to handle time shifting/DVR, but getting close to being able to dump DirecTV finally...

[007]

Originally Posted by KC2004

I got it last night and love it. The have a $5 add on package for sports that adds: •
• Sports Extra – Networks include: SEC Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded, Univision Deportes, Universal Sports, and beIN Sports

how did you get an invite?

[KC2004]

Originally Posted by Guru

how did you get an invite?

Signed up on the website.

[ragedogg69]

can anyone confirm the whole 1 person signed in at a time thing?

[KC2004]

Apparently Dish has a deal for AMC on slingtv for you Zombie fans.

[ragedogg69]

Anything that adds value to the base package is a good thing.

[LTL]

Originally Posted by ragedogg69

can anyone confirm the whole 1 person signed in at a time thing?

I can. Tried it on our living room tv then went to our bedroom and when I signed in to that tv it kicked me off in the living room. From what I understand at some point they are going to have the capabilty to do more than one stream at a time.

Have had it since Friday, so far so good for me at least. Got the base package plus the kids pack, so for 25 it's a pretty good deal.