Sling TV is one of the major services offered by Dish Network. The service has gained major popularity since its launch, and has added several additional packages over the last months. Furthermore, the acquisition cost required for Sling TV customers are lower, which gives Dish Network unlimited access to many markets.
However, there are a number of competitors in now. Sony, Amazon, Hulu, and AT&T are the biggest competitors for Sling TV at the moment. The recent loss of satellite customers has forced Dish to depend on Sling
now. Sony, Amazon, Hulu, and AT&T are the biggest competitors for Sling TV at the moment. The recent loss of satellite customers has forced Dish to depend on Sling TV, and to cope with the losses. But, is the streaming service ready to face these challenges?
Dish Network seems ready for the competition. CEO Charlie Ergen stated in a press release that the entire pay-TV arena is changing, and providers have to gear up to face t he situation. “Others will launch OTT services, so customers are not going to have two or three choices. They’re going to have 10 or 15 choices for their video products,” he said.
Sling CEO Roger Lynch said, “What we’re seeing is a certainly a secular growth in OTT marketplace for us.” Although both of the companies have not provided any insight on how they will compete against the upcoming services from competitors, but they clearly stated that Dish Network has the upper hand over these upcoming services.
Yet again, Ergen stated that AT&T has offered an unlimited mobile data plan in addition to the exceptional satellite TV services. This permits the users to enjoy quality TV service and unlimited streaming at the same time and this might possess a great challenge to Sling TV.
Other live streaming services such as Amazon and Hulu already have many subscribers. Almost 12 million paid subscribers and approximately 67 million monthly viewers use Hulu live streaming service, whereas Amazon serves 54 million members in the US, and Sony recently reached the 65 million mark.
Speaking on how they expect subscribers to move to Sling, Lynch said, “We’ve never seen much at all migration from Dish Network over to Sling TV, Historically, it’s been a different customer base that we attract for Sling versus the satellite business.” Nevertheless, Sling TV has s greater advantage over other live streaming service in terms of pricing.
While, the other live streaming services cost approximately $40 a month, Sling TV service starts their package at just $20 per month. Dish Network also allows customers to stream videos simultaneously on multiple devices. This might give them a bit of added push in the battle for the best entertainment services provider in the US.